Lady Luck
by Jade-Max
Summary: Smuggler!Padmé - Employed by Bail Organa, with Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker as her reluctant co-pilot, Captain Padmé Naberrie is on a dangerous mission to locate and rescue the Jedi that Emperor Mace Windu has decreed to be a threat...
1. Opening Scroll

Lady Luck - Smuggler!Padmé full length Post RotS AU (Padmé/Anakin/Barriss)

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**Disclaimer: It's George's sandbox; I'm simply destroying the sandcastles.**

**Title:** Lady Luck

**Author:** Jade-Max

**Genre:** Adventure, Romance, Drama

**Timeframe:** Post RotS AU

**Summary:** Smuggler!Padmé story. Employed by Bail Organa, with Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker as her reluctant co-pilot, Captain Padmé Naberrie is on a dangerous mission to locate and rescue the Jedi that Emperor Mace Windu has decreed to be a threat...

**Notes:** Sequel to **It's the little things that are worth saving**, **Smuggler's Price**, and **Tension**. It is not necessary to read these three previous entries - they will be summarized in the introduction. You can read them if you want more information and entertainment.

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**Lady Luck**

_**Introduction**_

_Jedi Master Mace Windu has defeated Palpatine in the bid to rid the galaxy of the Sith Lord, but at a horrible cost. Succumbing to the very darkness that he'd sworn to defeat, Mace has become a Sith Lord of incredible power, almost unmatched in fighting prowess. Seeing the Jedi as a threat to his new empire, he's given orders to have them hunted down and destroyed as enemies of his new Empire. Instated as the new Emperor, Mace has had the Jedi Temple liquidated, killing all resistance and razing the temple to the ground. _

Blue Skies_ Captain Padmé Naberrie, Smuggler and Rogue, and in the employ of one Senator of Alderaan, Bail Organa, risked her like in an ingenious bid to rescue the youngest of the Younglings before the fall of the Temple. Her mission accomplished__,__ the remaining Jedi Masters, Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, have separated the group and taken the children into hiding in an attempt to ensure the survival of the Jedi._

_Discovered on a remote asteroid base by Mace Windu's crack troops while attempting to purchase supplies, Anakin Skywalker once again found himself indebted to the Smuggler Captain when she risked her life to ensure his escape. In the attempt to secure the Jedi Master's release, Padmé's co-pilot Typho was killed. In the possession of the last known location of several high ranking Jedi, Padmé struck a bargain with the Jedi Master; In return for his life, she wanted his help. Anakin agreed to become her co-pilot for the duration of the missions._

_On their way to Ansion in search of Barriss Offee, Padmé made clear that her intentions were less than honorable. Having discovered that Barriss and Anakin had once had a relationship, she grew jealous and was determined to have the Jedi Master for herself. She threw down the gauntlet of challenge; Anakin would be hers before they were able to locate his once lover and he would come to her..._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker pushed back from the console in barely concealed disgust. "The circuit board is fried, Captain. Until we get a new one, all computations will need to be done by hand."

Captain Padmé Naberrie nodded as if this wasn't much of a surprise, her bare toes tapping the air absently. "I suggest you get on it then, Skywalker; you might only be there for a year or two if you're lucky"

They'd been less than a couple of hours out of Ansion when the navcomputer had fried unexpectedly. Those few hours would turn into years, possibly a decade, if they couldn't get the computer back online. He'd done everything in his considerable repertoire, including trying to bypass the damaged board, but a surge of power had almost disabled their engines and he'd quickly shut it off.

He'd located the power problem quickly enough, no thanks to his accomplice, and rerouted it properly. It hadn't helped with the fried circuit board and without a navcomputer they were as good as dead in space. Hours of long, exhausting work hanging at a precarious angle inside the service panels hadn't helped and Anakin's nerves were starting to fray, his control starting to slip. It didn't help that the good Captain enjoyed nothing more than to help bring it to that point.

"Ha, ha." He turned a sour look on her, not appreciating her humor. He immediately wondered what has possessed him to do so.

She was currently lounging in her chair in little more than her underclothes, her feet crossed at bare ankles on the board in front of her as she was checking the supply manifest in her cargo hold. He wished he hadn't looked as he couldn't help but admire her physique. Padmé was not a shy woman and she made no secret of the fact that she was trying to deliberately break his self-control. She blatantly flaunted her exquisitely shapely body, not to mention the razor sharp intellect it housed, in front of him hourly. It would have helped if she'd been bloated, or maybe bony, but she was neither. Excellently proportioned for her size, her muscle tone indicative of a highly active life style, a part of him was starting to wonder if her boast about him coming to her might in fact be true.

Anakin had found respite in short hours of meditation, feeling refreshed but less so daily. He wanted nothing more than to put this brazen woman and her ideas of _fun_ behind him and get back to work on the next generation of Jedi. But, he couldn't. Not until they'd located the Jedi on Padmé's list. He and the other Masters needed all the help they could get.

Padmé didn't look up from her datapad, her finger moving the slider down the screen as she searched her inventory. She shifted unconsciously under his gaze, giving him a good view of one perfectly sculpted buttock for a brief moment. "If you're lucky, I'll be able to locate which compartment that spare's in. Then you and that shapely tush of yours can be suspended for a while longer while you install it."

"Don't tell me the Captain needs a man to install her hardware."

She looked up, a teasing smile playing about her lips. "You can install any _hardware_ you want, Skywalker. Just say when."

"Insufferable woman."

"Prude." She returned, noting his flush before getting back to the matter at hand. "I could do the install, but you've already proven to be a better hand with mechanics than I am. Probably better than I'll ever be."

"A compliment, Captain?"

Her smiled turned charming. "I do know my limits, Skywalker. Don't let it go to your head."

He held up his hand forestalling the inevitable comment that would follow. "Just find that board, would you?"

She placed the datapad on the console, flicking the power button, and dropped her bare feet to the deck plating. Anakin's gaze was drawn to those tiny appendages. They moved as gracefully as the rest of her; and he'd seen her pick up datapads and a stylus with them. He didn't doubt she could probably shoot a blaster, albeit badly, with her feet too.

Those bare feet moved towards him and stopped just in front. It took a moment for Anakin to realize he was staring. His eyes snapped to her face, unable to avoid the view of her standing in front of him, her hands on her hips, in nothing more than her underwear. His mouth went dry and he saw a knowing smile cross her lips.

"Am I supposed to step over you Skywalker? Or are you just enjoying the show?"

In a completely undignified movement, he scrambled to his feet and moved out of her way. Padmé grabbed her flight jacket from the back of the co-pilot's chair where she'd placed it a few hours ago and slipped it on. "Unless you're going to do something about the intention on your face Skywalker, standing and gawking won't get that circuit board fixed."

Padmé exited the cockpit, leaving the jacket open. Her ship's temperature was warm enough that she didn't mind the lack of clothing. It helped that her blaster's harness was soft and supple and wouldn't abraded her smooth skin. It was the only other thing she wore and that alone ensured she didn't feel completely naked. Plus, her smile turned roguish as she heard Anakin following her, the height of the holster drew his eyes to certain attributes.

Padmé pushed the thought from her mind. Anakin was a pleasant distraction, one that was starting to border on obsession as she found him following her into her dreams, but she needed to concentrate on getting her ship fixed. She stopped in the cargo hold, bringing to mind the numbers on the cargo manifest. Cargo bay, storage locker ninety seven Zulu. She palmed the door open and hit the lights.

Ring lights came on, one at a time, as the generator kicked in. The lights started near the door and then, one by one, snapped into life. Satisfied, Padmé stepped into the cargo hold. She walked across the cool deck, feeling chill-bumps crawling up her feet, over her legs, the cold seeping into her core. She zipped up the flight jacket, increasing her pace, waiting for Anakin to say something.

He didn't. He followed behind her, a silent shadow, and stopped when she did. Padmé keyed open the storage locker and stepped back. She looked at him, noting the closed expression on his face and decided he'd had enough for the day. She knew her limits, she also knew how to read other people's limits. Anakin had reached his and was in no mood for her shenanigans. "Think you can find it?"

"Baring distractions."

She grinned roguishly. Maybe he hadn't had enough if he could still rise to her bait. "I thought Jedi were famous for their control."

He slanted her a look. "Of the Force maybe. Of self... it's always been my weakness."

She chuckled, stepping away, wanting nothing more than to find her nice warm boots and chase the chill from her body. No matter how much fun she had teasing him. Being in barefoot in the cockpit was one thing - the unheated cargo bay was another entirely. "Careful, Skywalker, I might just jump on that."

His smile was self-depreciating. "You already have, Captain. If you don't mind, I'd like to get back underway as soon as possible."

Padmé was tempted not to but her slowly freezing feet were crying for relief. "I'll be in my bunk. It' your turn for watch."

"We'll be back on course in no time, Captain. Sweet dreams."

"Right." She turned away, exiting the cargo bay swiftly and heading for her quarters. She was too wound up to sleep. She stepped into the small compartment and immediately removed her holster and its various straps before shrugging out of the jacket. She slipped into her pants, socks and shirt before buckling on her holster once more. Her vest and boots went on last. She adjusted her shoulder-length hair, pulling it back into a tail and tying it at the back of her head. She'd left it down as a temptation to the Jedi; she wasn't about to inconvenience herself while running through her daily exercises.

She waited a few minutes more, taking the time to stretch out and limber up. Her cargo bay was small, but just large enough she could job laps for an hour and get a good work out. Stretched and confident the Jedi was back in the cockpit, she headed for the cargo bay.

The tension between herself and the Jedi was setting her on edge, something she couldn't afford if _he_ was going to come to her.

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Padmé returned to the cockpit after her work out and a quick sonic shower. She was dressed this time, in much the same thing she normally wore planet side, her blaster strapped comfortably to her lower hip. She just about laughed when she entered, stopping to admire the view.

Anakin was hanging half into the console for the nav computer's circuits. Inventive curses and banging could be heard - muffled - coming from inside. His body was contorted half in the air, his long legs and shapely tush - a part she had to restrain herself from touching, the only part of him visible.

"Problems, Master Jedi?"

The noises stopped, and she realized she'd caught him by surprise. His muffled words were full of exasperation. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I decided to go for a run instead." She crouched by the panel, giving into her urge and placing one hand on his backside for balance. He jerked under her blatant touch, but Padmé just leaned forward to peer into the panel at him. "Can I get you anything? A tool you're missing maybe? I know my way around a multi-tool."

Anakin looked back over his shoulder at her, his blue eyes wary. Her touch was firm, but undemanding, her weight balanced perfectly on his buttock. He licked his lips before speaking. "You don't keep old circuit boards, do you? Ones that don't work?"

She shrugged, the motion translating into a slow sensation crawling up his spine. "Not normally. Why?"

"Because this kriffing thing is stuck! I can get it out, but I'll have to break it into five pieces. Someone soldered the blasted thing on!"

"So get the de-soldering tools. Typho had a multi tool with them somewhere in the box."

Anakin glared at her. "I tried that. Someone with much smaller hands than I put this thing in."

She smirked. "So use the Force, oh great Jedi Master. Or has it been that long since you worked on a ship?"

"I was nine and it was a pod racer." His terse response was followed by silence as he used her suggestion.

Padmé watched with fascination as the tool rose without being touched and slid behind the panel into a very narrow crack. She waited until the tool reappeared to speak. "A pod racer? I thought humans couldn't be pilots."

"Human children with innate Force abilities make surprisingly good pilots." He tossed a faint smile in her direction, reaching up to remove the fried panel and passed it to her.

Padmé had to remove her hand from the tight muscles she was enjoying the feel of. She settled for patting them once before she accepted the panel. She placed it to the side and found the new one sitting on the co-pilot's chair nearby. Carefully, so she didn't bang it on anything, she passed it over Anakin's back and into the service panel.

Anakin took it just as carefully and fitted it into place. A few bolts were tightened and then he carefully hooked up the computer connections, plugging them back in properly.

Padmé rose to her feet and moved a step away; giving him the room he needed to crawl from the panel. Once out she chuckled softly. "You're covered in grime, Master Jedi. Not a very dignified position."

Anakin plucked a rag from his belt and wiped his face before cleaning off his fingers. "It's greasier in there than I thought. Your ship's a well maintained, top notch piece of equipment captain."

"I do try."

"It shows." Anakin pushed to his feet. He'd removed all but his under tunic and trousers to crawl into the hatch to replace the panel. "Now if you'll excuse me Captain, I'm the one in need of a shower."

"Is that a request to scrub your back?"

He threw the rag at her. "How about we just get back underway."

Padmé caught the rag before it smacked her in the face and tossed it neatly onto the tool pile Anakin had brought from the access hatch. "The sooner to be reunited with your Jedi Barriss, Skywalker?"

He slanted an amused look at her. "The sooner to be rid of you, my dear Captain."

Padmé stared after him for a moment and then threw back her head and laughed. Oh, he was going to be fun!

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"Ansion control, this is _Blue Skies_ requesting permission to dock to re-supply."

Padmé listened with half an ear as her request was granted and the coordinates set. They'd been in hyperspace for less than an hour before reaching their destination and Anakin had only recently rejoined her in the cockpit. "I copy that, control, _Blue Skies_ out."

"Problems?"

"With the Anosians?" Padmé chuckled. "Always. They're a tricky people to deal with at times."

"You don't have to tell me."

Anakin's expression was once again serene and controlled; though Padmé thought she detected a hint of unease. "Is there something you're not telling me, Skywalker?"

"Plenty, Captain. But nothing about this world you probably don't know already. I was sent to help mediate a border dispute on this world shortly before the Separatists identified themselves to the Senate and pulled out. I was a Padawan at the time and the culture was unlike anything I'd ever seen."

Padmé chuckled. "So long as you didn't have to deal with the Alwari."

"We did."

She winced. "Ouch. I empathize, Skywalker."

"I didn't mean that as it sounded. The Alwari were a friendly people - once they accepted us as guests and not threats."

"From where you stand, maybe." Padmé guided her ship on course, her hands confidently handling the controls as she followed the instructions that had been issued. "The Alwari are a difficult people to bargain with."

"You mean con."

She shrugged. "Call it what you want. Their homemade goods are highly valuable on certain worlds where such things are rare; or even better, where such things are forbidden. I have several permanent buyers for Alwari merchandise - when they'll deign to speak with me."

Anakin chuckled. "At least they didn't have you get a tuft of white fur from a creature that could crush you in an instant."

"You'll have to tell me that story sometime - sounds interesting."

Anakin smiled faintly. "Barriss is the person to relate it; it was her Master who was crazy enough to try."

Padmé chuckled. "If - when - we find this Barriss, I'm very much looking forward to a frank discussion about a great many things. Your previous history on this planet isn't one of them."

"Ah," Anakin's hands flew over the thrusters as they neared the docking bay, prepared to take over in case the main power failed and he had to stop the ship from plummeting into the duracrete platform. "But that history may be the only thing that will allow us to find her."

"Anything I should know?"

"A few things. Barriss is a Jedi healer, specifically specializing in ailments of the mind. She will and does lend her aid where possible."

"A do-gooder." Padmé's tone was dry. "Joy."

Anakin's eyes flashed at the slight on Barriss. "Watch your tongue, Captain. I owe Barriss my life many times over."

"That good in the sack, huh?" Padmé brought the ship in smoothly, landing them with barely a bump and snapping off the engines. It didn't escape her notice that Anakin has shut up, or that his face was set in lines of annoyance and displeasure. She unbuckled her crash webbing and turned to face him. "I have a few trustworthy contacts on planet that should have some information about Jedi activities. But if she's lying low, she's probably in the wilderness. Ever been?"

"Not a place I care to return to," he admitted. He'd already unbuckled but remained sitting as he waited for her. "But I do remember the local traditional methods of transportation quite well. If we're lucky, we'll be able to find us a guide."

"Scared to be alone with me, Skywalker?"

He slanted her a look, pushing to his feet. "Captain, I think you should be scared to be alone with _me_."

Padmé laughed in his face. "That'll be the day, Skywalker. Come on; if nothing else I can supply the guide when we don't find your woman in town."

"She's not my woman."

Padmé smirked. "You're acting like she is."

"You're making a big deal out of nothing, Captain."

Padmé stopped on the exit ramp, turning to look at him, her eyes narrowed, her face tilted dangerously. "I bet she'll be delighted to learn she's nothing to you."

He paled but said nothing.

Padmé shook her head, descending the last few feet to the flight deck and looking around. A smile split her face. "Hulgar!"

The Anosian lifted his head, the striped mane that rippled down his back a hallmark of his clan. The one nostril nose flared and the equivalent of a smile spread across his face. "Captain Naberrie! And here I thought you swore to never return."

Padmé chuckled, striding confidently towards the dock master; Hulgar was in charge of all incoming and outgoing ships and freight. It was one reason she'd befriended him. She'd also talked him into giving her lessons on his language and, as a consequence, now spoke flawless Anosian. "The profits are simply too good my friend. I trust you received yours?"

His eyes gleamed. "Better than you promised. So you're back for more then."

"Whatever I can take with me." Her confirmation was interrupted by a cough.

Hulgar's eyes drifted to the tall male standing behind her. His demeanor changed, becoming slightly cooler. "This isn't Typho."

Padmé's smile died. "Typho bought the galactic farm on the last mission. He was careless. This is-"

"-her new co-pilot." Anakin's Anosian was rusty but passable.

Padmé slanted an amused look at Anakin. He didn't want his name given out but she intended to. Hulgar was her most trusted contact on the surface. "-Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker."

"Skywalker!" Hulgar's eyes bulged in the Anosian reflection for surprise.

Anakin inclined his head, shooting a dark look at Padmé. It was a look that promised retribution later.

Padmé ignored him. "I'm searching for similar cargo; heard anything?"

Hulgar pocketed the credit chip she slipped him, not bothering to check the amount. Padmé was known for being generous when she wanted information. "Nothing specifically. Anyone in particular?"

Anakin took his cue from Padmé. "Jedi Knight Barriss Offee."

Hulgar nodded, as if that was no surprise. "She docked here and her ship's been impounded but they weren't able to locate her. Last I heard she was lying low. Of course, last I heard, she'd procured a suubatar and headed out into the wilderness."

"Was her Padawan with her?"

Hulgar shook his head. "Nobody but her."

"Do you know what direction she went?"

Hulgar did the Anosian equivalent of a shrug. "I can ask around, but if she's beyond the walls you'll never find her even if I gave you a jumping off point."

"Don't count us out just yet." Anakin turned to Padmé. "I have an idea of where she might be. We'll have to acquire our own suubatars if we're going to have any hope of catching her."

Padmé nodded thoughtfully. She'd ridden them often enough, but she wasn't overly thrilled with the ride. Give her a nice, reliable made-made starship any day of the galactic year. "Hulgar, take care my ship, would you?"

"What if the Emperor calls for its impounding?"

Padmé's friendly smile cooled a little. "Then I guess you're out of a job. Permanently."

Hulgar backed off a couple of steps, raising his hands in understanding. "I'll make sure she's in tip top shape and brimming with cargo before you're ready to go."

"You do that. Come on, Sky- pardon me." She slanted a sour look his way, voicing his cover name for the first time. "Lars."

Anakin fell into step beside her as she led the way from the docking bay. "I don't trust him."

"Then it's a good thing you're not the Captain." Padmé lengthened her stride, Anakin keeping up with her easily. "Hulgar is a bit of a slippery fish, but overall he's trustworthy. I make it in his best interest to _be_ trustworthy. Large sums of credit go a long way on this planet. The pay of a Docking port authority, especially one with his abilities, is lousy."

"And if he betrays us?"

She shrugged. "That's what I have you for. Come on; those look like promising specimens."

Over the next hour Anakin was treated to an eye opener on Padmé's bargain practices. She was an expert and it showed. She came in tentative, looking like an easy mark, and proceeded to pull unlikely information from the sellers. Breed, sire, damn, lineage back four generations. Including but not limited to, a medical history and previous injury history. They tried four traders before she was satisfied she was getting her credit's worth before she was willing to even discuss prices.

And Anakin was treated to another shock. The price set was countered with a ridiculously low bid, one that shocked the trader. He protested, proceeding to give them a full circular inspection of his merchandise, the creatures standing placidly by as he showed off colors, distinctive markings and physique. Padmé made a second offer, this one almost half again what she'd initially offered, a fair deal, but the animals were obviously worth more.

The trader countered with another, lower than his first price, but about half-way between it and hers. Padmé made a final offer, making a show of checking her credit chips. The offer was just under half-way between the second asking price and hers. The trader jumped on it and Padmé reluctantly handed over the credits.

The creatures were well proportioned and, it wasn't until they were beyond the city walls, racing across the plains that Padmé threw her head back and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Anakin brought his mount next to hers.

"Did you see the bargain I got for these two? Supplies included? These are first rate suubatars - fewer could be better, none cheaper."

"You don't think cheating a man out of his lively hood is wrong?"

She smirked. "You're so naive, Skywalker. We camp in an hour; I hope you brought your self control because I feel the need for a bath."

Anakin groaned, falling behind her, and they continued their trek in silence.

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Anakin was the first to notice something amiss as they finished setting up their campsite. He felt the hair rise on the back on his neck, his stomach twist with certainty.

They were being watched.

Padmé rose from setting up the last of the perimeter warnings and looked at him, frowning. His eyes were narrowed as he stared across the plains. "Something the matter, Skywalker? Or does the scenery just remind you of home?"

"Hardly; I grew up in a desert." He responded absently. "We're being watched."

Padmé rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest for a night, would you? Being in hiding is making you paranoid."

Anakin slanted a look at her that lacked any kind of humor. "The Force is very clear, Captain. We _are_ being watched."

Padmé made an expansive gesture, turning in a circle to encompass the surrounding prairie that spread out on all sides. Grasses bowed and shifted with the evening breeze, dipping and undulating like the waves of an ocean. No rocky outcroppings, nothing so much as a hill anywhere in their line of sight. The waves of grass were broken only by a small stream, beside which they'd made their camp. "And where are they hiding, Skywalker? Behind the tent?" She made a show of marching around it before stopping, planting her hands on her hips, one cocked in annoyance. "Force or not, you're wrong."

Anakin turned back to the prairie, _something_ tugging at his subconscious. It wasn't human, whatever was watching them. "Not all who watch require a vantage point, Captain. And not all who watch are necessarily human."

Padmé threw her hands up in disgust. "Fine, stand watch for all I care. I'm going to enjoy those waters."

Anakin didn't even look her way as Padmé ducked into the tent. She was fuming, a wild, raging river of emotions in the Force. She obviously thought little of his warning. Her cocky self-assurance was going to get them into trouble; he just knew it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** these are actually double chapters since when it was originally posted chapters were only 4 pages in length (Word, 10 pt font) which is why sometimes it will feel as if there's _supposed_ to be a cliff hanger in the middle of the chapter but isn't. Enjoy :)

Chapter 2

Blaster bolts ricocheted off the rocky ground, barely missing the last set of legs on the aggressive shan. It snarled, barring dripping fangs, baleful eyes reflecting the light of their campfire. Blue light whirled, humming as the blade cut through air and finally flesh. The shriek of the shan as it lost two of three legs on one side was hideous. A second cut was made as quickly as the first, before the mutilated shan hit the ground, silencing its cries once and for all.

A blaster bolt sped past his shoulder, close enough her smelled the ozone from burnt air, the shan's mate taking the bolt in the mouth as it was lunging to defend its mate. The Jedi Master coolly spun the blade around, intercepting the distracted creature and neatly slicing its head from between bony shoulder blades.

A yell had him spinning. Padmé was down with another shan on her chest, this one smaller than the first two.

_Baby's first hunting trip_.

Padmé had lost her blaster, and it lay several feet from where she was. The sharp claws of the shan's middle feet had dug into her thighs, keeping her legs pinned to the ground and Anakin could see blood welling from the deep incisions. Its back feet were planted firmly on the ground to keep its balance as its front feet worked in tandem with its snapping jaws to try and rend Padmé's head from her shoulders.

Her face was set in determined lines as she struggled against the shan. Claws had raked her delicate skin, rendering her hands and arms a mess of bloody lines. Her shirt was also torn from shoulder to waist, a view he had little time to appreciate. Anakin extended his hand, calling on the Force to fling the predator away. The shan let out a hiss of pure malevolence as Padmé scrambled for her blaster, heedless of the wounds she'd obtained or the fact that her shredded shirt was less than decent.

Anakin had no time to be distracted as the shan's feet hit the ground, sending it back towards Padmé just as her had slid around her blaster's grip. Anakin was bowled over from behind, leaving him no time to spare Padmé a thought. Claws bit into his shoulder but he rolled with the blow, throwing the small shan off. For it was a small shan, almost identical in size to the other smaller on.

_Twins_. Anakin's thought was caustic. _Figures_.

His lightsaber whirled, the light reflecting off the shan's fangs as he came in, perfectly balanced. The shan hissed again and then leapt away, bounding towards where Padmé was backing away from its sibling, her blaster lined up with its forehead and pouring shot after shot into the tough hide. Anakin followed, reaching to the Force once more and letting it work for him, channeling it carefully as he sent his lightsaber spinning away in an arc.

Padmé let out a yelp of surprise as she was plucked off the ground by invisible hands and held suspended above the advancing shan's. It gave her a good shot at the unprotected back of the shan's neck. She aimed and fired in a split second, sending her attacker to the ground with a final, menacing hiss. She turned her head in time to see Skywalker's blade dip, catching the second shan about the middle and neatly severing it in half as it made to leap up at her.

The lightsaber arced gracefully back towards Anakin's palm where he shut off the blade and looked up at her.

Padmé stared back at him, wondering if she should be grateful for his assistance - or if he'd take it wrong. She smiled roguishly instead. "Nothing like a little late night work out to keep the blood pumping, eh Skywalker?"

Anakin stared at her, amusement mirrored in his blue eyes. "If that's you idea of a workout Captain, I believe I'm in no danger from you after all."

Padmé laughed. "That was just the foreplay, Master Jedi, we haven't gotten to the good stuff yet."

Anakin stepped towards her - she was still suspended several feet above the ground. "Your true colors are showing, Captain." His look was pointed.

She glanced down at her chest and found her shirt in tatters. It clung to the curve of her breasts, barely keeping them decently covered, and sticking because of the blood. Blood, lots of blood; her blood. Padmé paled. "Get me down."

Anakin's look turned concerned as he carefully lowered her to the ground. The note in her voice was as close as he'd ever heard to panic. "Captain?"

Padmé stumbled as her feet connected to solid earth again, barely managing to keep her feet. Anakin put out one hand to help her but she pushed it away, stumbling the few feet to the stream. She tore the shirt off; heedless of the indecency of the act, or the effect it had on her concerned companion, and tossed it aside.

Her chest bare, her delicate skin marred by bloody lines and her face unnaturally pale, Anakin had never seen anything like her before in his life. Yet it was the underlying sense of unease and panic that drew him towards her as she fumbled with the buckles on her holster. Strange, she wasn't doing this to tease him; it was as if something had spooked her. "Padmé? Are you alright?"

She jerked as her said her name, tugging violently on one of the holster straps. "Kriffing thing." She didn't acknowledge him, struggling with the releases.

Anakin felt her panic rising and stepped in. He pushed her hands away and quickly, with sure movements, undid the straps.

Padmé said no word of thanks as she dropped the holster and stumbled into the stream, immersing herself up to her shoulders immediately. Her eyes closed as the water stung the wounds, rushing past at a fast enough pace to cleanse. She tilted her head back, letting the cool water revitalize her spirit and wash away the fringes of panic.

A shudder raced through her frame. Blood, notably her own, was a sight she couldn't bear.

"Padmé?"

Her eyes opened at the soft, concerned tone of her companion and she was grateful for the darkness that hid her blush. He must think her mad. "I'm alright, Skywalker. Thanks for the save back there."

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, his boot tips just shy of the water's edge, and narrowed his gaze to try and see her better. "What was that all about?"

"The shan's got the best of me." She smiled, though it was crooked and lacked the normal vitality; she was still recovering. "I thought for sure I'd have to jam my hand down its throat and grab it's heart."

"I mean afterwards, Captain."

She winced. And just like that she was the Captain again; it just sounded so... _impersonal_. She preferred the sound of her real name on his lips. The way he drew out the end of it, like a caress with his tongue. She fought back a suddenly vivid image that quickly replaced the chill spreading through her body with warmth. "I can't very well risk an infection."

"It was more than that. You were afraid, more afraid than when the shan's attacked."

Padmé's expression darkened. Blasted Jedi and their Force. "It's nothing; let it go."

Anakin didn't budge. "If it's nothing then why are you lying in a stream wearing your pants _and_ boots?"

Padmé froze and lifted one leg, staring at the offending piece of footwear she'd been sure she'd kicked off. She exploded out of the water with an expletive, stalking towards shore as water streamed off her skin. "Of all the stupid, idiotic, bantha-notioned, gundark brained-"

"Why'd you do it?"

Anakin's soft question cut her off as she stopped on the edge of the stream, barely feet from him. His gaze was on her face, but she could see his heightened color. Could almost feel the increased tension returning and her body responding accordingly. Visibly, thanks to her lack of attire. She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. "It seemed like a good idea at the time?"

Anakin cocked his head at her.

She let out an exasperated breath. "I can't stand the sight of my own blood, alright? I had to get it off me." She shuddered. The gashes on her chest and hands were stinging, beginning to well with more of the offending substance. She turned, moving to go back into the stream.

Anakin's hand on her arm stopped her. "Let me dress them for you."

She arched her eyebrows. "You're no healer."

"Neither are you, but that didn't stop you from offering the same assistance when I was in a similar circumstance." His eyes were compassionate, the desires banked and controlled in the face of her fears. "Besides, it will give you something to think about other than the blood."

Padmé looked ready to object so he took the matter out of her hands by sweeping her into his arms. She gasped in surprise, her hands automatically reaching for his neck, though she knew he'd never drop her. Not while she was injured anyway. She winced as his shirt caught the edges of a gash in her waist, but didn't protest. "Why, Master Jedi, sweeping a girl off her feet's against the Jedi code, isn't it?"

He glanced down at her, his eyes hooded and suddenly unreadable. "Keep that sharp tongue in your head for ten minutes and I promise I'll be gentle."

She blinked, surprised. "Threats, Anakin?"

She felt the misstep as he ducked into their tent, stumbling and almost falling as his voice fell from her lips. His grip tightened fractionally. She felt the hitch in his breathing and marveled at it. Was that all it took? She was placed on her feet as Anakin retrieved the med pack. "I was starting to wonder if you could remember my name, Captain."

"And I was starting to wonder if you knew mine, Skywalker." Padmé arched her eyebrows at him, completely unashamed of the fact she was standing before him in little more than skin-tight pants and wrecked boots.

He turned and stopped. "Truce, Padmé. Let's just get you cleaned up, alright?"

Padmé held her tongue as Anakin opened the med pack and pulled out a roll of bacta bandages. She held out her hands, but he shook his head, motioning for her to raise her arm. She did so, presenting him with her profile. His sudden shift in stance was as pleasing as it was frustrating. His fingers brushed her skin as he measured the length of the bandage he'd need, her body's reaction as instantaneous as his had been. Electricity seemed to arc between them. She smiled wryly, watching him cut the bandage length. No lack of chemistry, at least. She sucked in a sharp breath as Anakin placed the first of the bandaged, his touch gentle. He stared at her lower back, wrapped it upwards with his face coloring slightly as he gently lifted her breast with the tips of his fingers to secure the bandage just beyond the end of the first claw mark.

Padmé's mouth went dry at the fleeting touch. Damn him. She closed her eyes, turning her face away as he proceeded to do the same twice more, then three time over the swell of the same breast. The shan had gotten her good. He applied pressure to her arm, indicating she was to lower it, and proceeded to dress the wounds on her shoulders.

She couldn't help but admire his self control as his touch was sending heat and flame spiraling through her. Fortunately, he'd started with the deepest and most intimate of wounds, and slowly progressed outwards. Or maybe not so fortunately. Padmé was breathing heavily when he finally reached her hands, wrapping the last of the bacta bandages from the one kits around them. She took a perverse sense of pride in the fact that Anakin's hands were shaking almost as much as her own.

But damn that Jedi control! He finally dropped her hands and stepped away. A quick, cursory look and he nodded, before adverting his gaze. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. "I suggest you dress in something loose, Captain; we don't have many changes for your dressings."

She stared after him as he left the tent, her body humming with frustration. _Blast him_! She fumed silently, going to the foot of her bedroll and digging through her bag. She pulled out a new set of clothing and proceeded to peal the still damp pants from her legs. The boots, ruined as they were, got tossed to the doorway. She was fuming, annoyed he'd not taken the opportunity when he'd had it, and grudgingly admiring him for the fact that he hadn't. Damn Jedi and their self control anyway.

Padmé slipped into the fresh set of clothing, careful not to dislodge the bandages, and Anakin's parting words finally sank in. She stopped, in surprise before beginning to chuckle to herself. The implications became clearer the more she thought about it. Anakin now knew about her aversion to her own blood, he'd feel honor bound to change the dressings at least once more. She smiled slyly, the memory of the feel of his hands on her skin making her shiver deliciously.

_Just you wait, Master Jedi. You're in for the surprise of your life_!

----------

Padmé woke sometime in the middle of the night feeling stiff and sore, her stomach and chest throbbing where she'd been clawed. She turned, curling around her wounds unconsciously as the pain of infection lanced through her system. Her bandages had come loose, and rubbed against raw wounds in a fashion that irritated already sensitive and inflamed skin. She clenched her jaw against the pain that lanced through her side, her hand covering the bandages through the shirt and applying pressure to try and stem the pain.

"Captain?"

Padmé squeezed her eyes shut, silently begging him to go away even as she hoped he wouldn't.

"Padmé?"

She felt the fabric of her bedroll shift as he knelt next to her. His hands were gentle as he placed his finger tips over the back of her hand. She moaned, that small pressure sending another wave of agony through her side. He didn't ask if she was in pain; he didn't need to. Anakin's hand flattened against hers, enveloping it, and she felt warmth pulse between them.

The pain receded gradually and her hand loosened on her side as she gulped down a breath of relief. Her eyes opened and she stared. Anakin was crouched over her, braced on one knee and one hand, his left hand warm against hers. His eyes were closed, his brow knitted in concentration as he drew on the Force to help her. Long hair framed his face, curling about his temple in a tantalizing fashion that had her hands itching to touch it now that the pain was disappearing.

Padmé couldn't take her eyes off him.

His eyes slowly opened to reveal crystal pools of concern that stared down at her tenderly. "Is that better?"

She nodded mutely. Her bravado had fled with his tender ministrations.

Anakin made to take his hand away but she rolled her wrist, capturing his hand in hers and keeping it pressed against her abdomen. Anakin's eyes darkened, his hand flexing against the smooth muscles and bandages, reading the invitation that was clear in her gaze. Padmé licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

She wanted to make some witty comment, to thank him in her blaze fashion as if it was something he did daily, but she couldn't. The look on his face, in his eyes, had drawn any ability for coherent speech from her and left her words a jumble in her mind. His hand flexed again and slowly, ever so slowly, his posture changed fractionally. Lowering, his face nearing hers.

Padmé felt her breath catch as she read the inner conflict in his gaze. He was going to kiss her. Elation swept through her, but something else was close on its heels. Fear. The warmth of the realization of everything she'd worked for was swept aside by the instinctive knowledge that if he kissed her, she'd be lost.

Anakin's face drew nearer and stopped, level with his knee and she could see his silent conflict with himself. He wanted her but didn't dare give in. Padmé released his hand and rolled away, managing not to cry out as she put most of her weight on the painful wound. She stopped, breathing heavily as the pain began to seep back in, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You're bleeding again, Padmé."

She shivered at the huskiness in his tone, hearing the underlying confusion and relief. He'd had a moment of weakness and she'd not capitalized; she'd turned _him_ down. Padmé finally found her voice and she made her comment deliberately harsh, her game with him suddenly seeming more dangerous than before. "Do you get your kicks from ogling women in their night clothes, Master Skywalker?"

She could probably have slapped him and not shocked him more.

Anakin's tone changed to the more familiar, cordial tone she was used to. "I felt your pain, Captain; I was simply trying to help."

"You've done enough, thanks." Padmé found the strength to push herself up, managing not to faint as the agony returned, lancing from her back to her chest. She clutched her wound again, feeling it pulsing despite the bacta bandage.

"You have an infection."

"No kidding." She gritted her teeth, sending him a withering look. "Did you learn to make your diagnosis in Jedi school?"

Anakin regarded her solemnly. "My mother taught me how to recognize the signs before I learned the rudimentary healing skills. We'll have to reopen the wound."

Padmé felt her face drain of all color and she held her hands up, as if to stop him. Crimson greeted her gaze. She shivered, feeling the panic that she always felt when seeing her own blood - blood from an injury - one her skin. Anakin's hands folded about hers, blocking the crimson stain from view. His gaze met hers and held her mesmerized. His tone was soothing, comforting and almost hypnotic.

"It's alright, Padmé, everything will be okay. We just didn't clean it properly, lie back. That's a good Captain."

"You're not thinking of having your wicked way with me, are you?"

Anakin chuckled as he helped her lie back on her bedroll. "I prefer my women a little more lively."

"Like Barriss?"

Anakin didn't rise to the bait, nor the hurt she hadn't been able to keep out of her voice.

_Barriss can have him_, she decided peevishly, watching as he went through the process of removing the pain from her side through the Force. His hands moved then, opening her night shirt and exposing the angry red gashes across her ribs and side that had become inflamed through her bandages. Anakin reached out with one hand, bringing his light source from across the tent to illuminate the wound better.

Consequently, it also revealed the undamaged skin just as well. Anakin's gaze met hers and she could see the control he was exerting over himself as sweat beaded his brow. His hands were efficient as they stripped the useless bandages from her torso but they were far from impersonal. His fingers tips lingered on her skin as his thumbs brushed whisper soft caresses over the smooth plan of her stomach. Padmé squirmed, unable to help herself, as the pain seemed to be pulled from the wound and the banked flames of desire roared back to life.

Anakin pressed down on her stomach, his hand splayed wide to hold her down. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you, but we have to clean this."

Padmé bit her lip. Hurting her? Force no! But she wasn't about to tell him that. She nodded instead. "Just get it over with, alright?"

"You're a lousy patient, Captain."

"And you're a lousy Doc - ooooh!"

Anakin had brought the edges of the wound apart and was now squeezing the puss from the wound. She gasped, the pain arcing through her body in a series of small waves. Anakin's hands worked quickly, and she thought she could see him drawing on the Force to draw more of the toxins from her system. Padmé lay as still as she could, her jaw clenched against the pain of the process, her face turned away.

Then, after several minutes of mind-numbing agony, it was over. Anakin's hands ceased their pressure and she felt something cool sliding over the lips of the raw wounds. His fingertips, coated disinfectant cream, were gently tracing the outlines. She swallowed hard, watching as the cream was absorbed and tinted pink.

Anakin then applied a new bandage. Covering the wounds, he firmly massaged the bandaged into place, his finger tips brushing sensitive skin as he did so. Padmé bit the inside of her lip, suppressing the shudder than ran through her with his touch, however fleeting. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping he'd mistake her reaction for pain. _Fire, Padmé_. Her inner voice whispered softly, sounding the warning. _If you tempt him and continue to tease him, you'll end up burned. This fire isn't like any you've ever played with before nor any you'll ever play with again. Is it worth it for-_

She jumped as Anakin's fingers slid in a semi-caress down her side, distracting her from her thoughts and drawing her gaze back to his. His blue eyes were no longer the color of diamonds, but had deepened to dark cerulean. His hands shook and she could feel the tremble as his fingers worked along the bandage again. Her heart pounded, drowning out whatever her inner voice had wanted to say, and her world narrowed.

It was a new experience, completely foreign and the thrill of fear that had danced down her spine before returned. It had been a game to start; a game to tease and tantalize; to drive the oh-so-high-and-mighty-Jedi to distraction. To push him to his limits and crack that self control. She'd been teasing him for weeks, even since he'd joined her, but he'd invaded her dreams after their first meeting.

And suddenly, it wasn't a game anymore.

Anakin's head came down with a barely disguised groan, his hand splaying across her rib cage, cool against her super-heated skin. She could feel the indentations of his fingers as if she were being branded, but that thought was distant. Warm, moist heaven had covered her lips. The moan stuck in her throat escaped as her inner voice was effectively silenced once and for all. His lips were gentle, exploratory, as if apologizing for some kind of offence. Padmé couldn't think, didn't try to, instead her hands came up to twine in his hair, delving into the silken curls she'd been fantasizing about since she'd fist laid eyes on him. His head turned, slanting his lips more firmly and intimately over hers. Padmé opened her mouth to him, darting her tongue out to tease the seam of his lips.

He jerked as if struck and abruptly pulled back.

Padmé's eyes flew open and she lifted her head to watch him from her prone position, unable to do more than stare. Anakin stared back at her, the flames of desire warring with the tenets of his code; she could see the conflict in his gaze, the anguish as if he'd done something horribly wrong. He was fighting not only the desire that lept so readily to life at her touch, but the teachings of a lifetime. He fled, scrambling to his feet and darting from the tent.

Padmé's head fell back. She reached up, pressing her hands against her chest, trying to still her racing heart beat. The thrill of his kiss was slow to recede and, even as it began to fade, the revelation from earlier rushed into its void. Padmé closed her eyes, banging her head against the roll that qualified as her pillow.

_Stupid_. Her silent admonitions did little to calm her pulse or still the fire racing through her veins. _Stupid, stupid, __**stupid**_! She'd just been through the most passionate kiss in her life and the man who'd given it was a celibate eunuch with a past of indiscretions. She supposed she should be thankful. His control would be well established when he saw her next and there'd be no hope of a relapse.

Her whole body tightened at the thought of another brush of his lips. _Get a grip; it wasn't that good_! But the ache in her body and the tingling of her lips, said otherwise. It hadn't even been an overly erotic kiss - simply a brushing of lips compared to some of the kisses she'd experienced. But never before in any of her encounters had she been so completely swept away to the point where no coherent thought was possible. She'd always been in control, the one calling the shots.

"Dangerous." She whispered the word, shivering at the thought, and pushed herself into a sitting position. She fastened her night shirt loosely about her waist, careful not to press on the newly secured bandages, and pushed to her feet. Well, she could deal with this; she could deal with him. Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head warning to run as swiftly as she could in the other direction, she collected a spare jacket, shrugged into it, and stepped out of the tent.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Anakin was standing at the edge of the stream, one hand on the suubatar's foreleg as it bent to drink, when Padmé emerged from the tent. She stared at his profile, taking in the firm lines of his jaw and the way the constant breeze ruffled his hair. Hair that was as silken to touch as it looked. He didn't look her way, instead stared across the stream into distance where the sky was beginning to show the first hints of dawn.

Padmé took a careful look around, ignoring the inner voice that was telling her to let it drop, and moving towards him. She stopped near the suubatar's middle legs, her hand on the bandage underneath her coat. It ached, though the sharp stabbing pain had disappeared. Thanks to him. "Don't sweat it, Skywalker - it was just a kiss."

She saw his jaw tighten, but she didn't turn to look at her. "Are you happy now, Captain?"

"Happy?"

"You got what you wanted."

Padmé smiled crookedly, though she was certain he couldn't see it. "What I got was but a taste. It makes me wonder what the whole dish is like."

"And you will continue to wonder." Anakin finally turned towards her. His face was set in impassive lines. "If we're going to work together, we've got to have ground rules."

Padmé crossed her arms over her chest - and uncrossed them just as quickly, hissing as the bandage pulled painfully. Anakin's expression instantly changed to concern and he made a move towards her. She took a step back, cradling her side with one hand and holding the other up to stop him. "You're the one who wanted ground rules. Rule one; no touching."

Anakin stopped eyeing her critically. "You're injured and squeamish; how do you propose to change your dressing?"

Padmé tilted her chin stubbornly. "I'll find a way. I managed without you before, I'll manage again."

Anakin inclined his head. "As you wish, _Captain_. Will you be able to ride today?"

Padmé narrowed her eyes. He was taunting her, baiting her, and doing it deliberately. Her tone turned purring seductive. "I can always _ride_, Master Jedi. The real question is if you're up to the punishment."

"Can you keep your mind on our job, Captain?" His tone was filled with distain. "We've a lot of ground to cover over the next few days."

"I can ride if you can pack. Manual labor is beyond my current ability and inclination."

"And man handling is not?"

"We all have our fortés, Skywalker." Her smile turned charming. "Man handling is a specialty of mine."

He turned abruptly away. "I suggest you handle yourself for now, Captain. The ride isn't going to be easy on those wounds."

"Suubatars have a very easy gait, if you can follow it, Skywalker. I'm sure I'll sleep like a baby."

_Or maybe scream like one_. Padmé gritted her teeth against the motion her torso had to settled into for the suubatar's ride to be comfortable. They sped across the open plains several hours later, and several position experimentations later. Nothing had worked. The suubatar's gait was comfortable enough - except when it dipped unexpectedly to move over rough terrain. And rough terrain was all they'd seen for the last twenty minutes.

"Sleeping like a baby, Captain?"

She managed a smile through gritted teeth, certain he knew what she was really feeling. "Never better."

"What was that?" Anakin closed in so he was riding side by side with her.

She glared at him. "I said never better! Just find our next campsite, you pompous, arrogant, egotistical, smart-"

Anakin pulled ahead, out of earshot, and she cut off her line of insults, focusing instead on making the rise easier. It wasn't east. The terrain they'd climbed into was rocky, gusting disproportionately this way and that, and the suubatars slowed to navigate large boulders. Chasms opened up on their left and they urged their mounts to hug the cliff face.

Padmé hunched over her wound, feeling it pulse under her hand as she pressed her side, gamely straightening whenever she noticed he was looking in her direction. She'd be damned if she showed weakness towards him again. On the bright side, they'd only settled on one rule. No touching. That thought had kept her amused for their trip thus far. She'd rarely touched him anyway and, knowing the effect he had on her, was secretly glad of the rule. She was confident she could drive him to distraction without it. The pleasant thoughts were interrupted when Anakin's suubatar suddenly let out a hideous shriek.

Anakin jumped free as the beast went down, staggered under the weight of something that had struck it from the side.

Padmé reacted before she thought, the synth rope she kept coiled at the front of her saddle in her hand and flicking out towards Anakin as his suubatar's bulk slipped to the side. Jedi enhanced reflexes allowed him to catch the rope even as he went careening out over the chasm. Padmé looped the rope around one forearm and the front of her saddle, using her legs to brace herself. The tug of Anakin's weight as the rope picked up the slack and went taught almost dragged her from her saddle. She felt the wounds on her arms and hands split, the agony in her side almost causing her to black out as she took Anakin's full weight; he'd almost pulled her shoulders from their sockets!

Padmé bit the inside of her lip, tasting blood, using it to keep her focus as she forced herself to grip the rope tightly with both hands. "Lose some pounds, Skywalker!"

"Hang on."

She glanced down, her teeth grinding together against the stabbing pain in her side. It helped take her mind off the dead weight on her arms. "I think that's my line. Or maybe, hang around."

The smile he flashed her was positively boyish despite his precarious circumstance. He was hanging over a drop that would easily mean his death, Jedi Master or not. "Don't tell me you're not tempted to drop me even the tiniest bit."

Padmé blinked in surprise. The thought, despite his frustrating demeanor, hadn't even crossed her mind. "I don't know what you think of me Skywalker, but I'm no murderer. Not to put a damper on things, since you're so comfortable hanging around, but this isn't exactly good for my injury."

"A shame; I rather enjoy the view from down here."

"Would you like to stay there permanently?"

"That wasn't my idea, no. Coax your suubatar to back up. It'll save you from having to pull me up."

She did as he asked, coaxing the beast carefully backwards along the chasm ledge. "I hope you're worth it, Skywalker. That's two days in a row I've bled for you."

"And only once you've saved my hide doing it. Consider us even after this."

Padmé managed a weak laugh, feeling the adrenaline that was pumping through her system keeping her from unconsciousness. Only, it was starting to fade and her vision was going black. "Even? This isn't a two for one freebee gig. You still owe me one."

"Padmé?"

She struggled to keep her grip on the synth rope as it grew slick from perspiration and blood. "Yeah?"

"How are you holding up?"

"You're the one hanging over a cliff; you tell me." Anakin grew silent and the darkness began encroaching further. She shook her head, trying to stretch, to bring pain, anything to keep her awake.

"Anakin?

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you're going to make it out of this one."

"Why do you say that?"

"Things are all dark, hazy-like. I don't think I can keep my grip on the rope for too much longer."

"I'm almost there, Padmé, hang on just a little longer."

"I.. can't..."

"Padmé?"

Padmé couldn't answer as her world faded to black.

_"Padmé!"_

Her last recollection was of Anakin screaming her name as the synth rope slipped through her fingers.

----------

Water.

Running water.

Padmé groaned softly as she came to, her whole body throbbing as if it were on fire. The ache in her side was accompanied by a feel of wetness and she knew, without looking or feeling, that she's torn something bad. Her eyes were slow to open and her surroundings even slower to register.

Water.

She tilted her head, squinting against the pain throbbing in her temples and found she could make out the head of the suubatar she was still riding. Somehow she'd stayed in the saddle. She ached abysmally, her side throbbing with each breath and sending shards of pain lancing through her system. She ignored it, pressing her hand against her side as she fought through the fog that accompanied the agony and tried to figure out where she was.

The stream was new; there hadn't been a stream on the canyon wall.

Canyon wall.

Suubatar's scream

Anakin.

Padmé sat upright in her saddle and cursed as the move sent rivers of pain lancing through her body. "Anakin?"

She frowned. Her voice was faint, almost hoarse, and had no volume. She cleared her throat and tried again, looking around worriedly. "Anakin?"

There was no answer as her call echoed up and down the canyon. A very deep canyon. She frowned. The suubatar was standing next to the stream docilely, its head drifting down to lap up a drink as she searched. Was this the bottom of the canyon? She ignored the tearing feel in her side and twisted, looking up the canyon wall, shading her eyes with one hand. A faint trail leading down to the canyon floor, where she assumed herself to be, led back to the wall. The hulk of Anakin's dead suubatar was just barely visible. It looked like a boulder except for the green mass of clinging, moving vines that enveloped it.

Padmé sank back into the saddle, using both hands to press against her side in an attempt to dull the pain. She needed to think and she was light headed, the constant throbbing behind her temples an indication that she wasn't as capable as she thought she might be. She closed her eyes, relaxing into a semi-hunched position to ease the pain and focused her thoughts.

_Stupid Jedi_. She smiled faintly. _Stupid, handsome, naive, gorgeously proportioned Jedi_. Her thoughts became bolder, giving her confidence. The pain began to recede, giving her some breathing room. Her suubatar had brought her to the bottom of the ravine for a reason she didn't yet know. Could Anakin have survived the fall or had the young man fallen to his death? It would be an iniquitous death for such a well known figure.

Taking a deep, bracing breath against the pain she knew would come, Padmé tapped the shoulder of the suubatar and indicated it should kneel. It did and she swung her legs over its back. With a bracing breath, she dropped to the ground.

She collapsed as she landed, her knees buckling as fire raced through her system, going down on all fours. Blood had coated her hands, soaked through her shirt and was running down her wrists; her hands swam in her vision. She felt bile rise in her throat and closed her eyes, fighting down the panic. "Sissy," she told herself viciously. "You're injured; big deal! Blood is a natural part of life and you're just going to have to deal with it!"

She pushed back to her feet, clutching her side, ignoring the sand and dirt that now coated her hands as she looked around. The suubatar was watching her calmly. Padmé stumbled to its head, looking at her surroundings. The stream she'd heard was in fact a river that bubbled slowly along the canyon floor. Trembling, she bent and knelt next to the suubatar's head. She ripped off her over-shirt and dunked it, using it to wash the blood from her hands and, gritting her teeth, her eyes adverted, used it to swipe the stickiness from her side.

She didn't dare look, knowing that she'd reached her personal limit and did her best to clean her side. The water was cool, clear, and refreshing. She ditched her boots and blaster on the bank and waded in, washing the blood from her pants. Could Anakin have hit the water instead of the rocks and survived? "Skywalker!" She called his name, hoping he'd answer her.

The stream continued to bubble along, but her voice echoing back to her from down the canyon was all that she heard in response. _Damn him_. She sighed, sinking down and letting the water sooth the ravaged edges of her wound. The water was cool, almost cold, and she felt the skin numbing as she exposed it directly to the water. She looked around, trying to get some indication of where Skywalker could have landed.

Padmé shielded her eyes and looked again at the bulk of the downed, and now dead, suubatar on the high ledge above. It was over... she traced the line with her eyes, trying to judge where Anakin had been hanging. She let out a relieved breath. If she was right, Anakin would have been over the middle of the stream. But had he survived the fall?

Her suubatar shifted, drawing her gaze as it sniffed off towards her left. Padmé waded out of the river, the chill of the water making her shiver but had brought numbness to the fire in her side. She glanced down and found that the bleeding had all but stopped, the wound now let open as the bandage had been washed away. She turned to her suubatar first, retrieving the med-pack from the supplies and quickly, and awkwardly, slapped some bacta bandages with an analgesic onto her wound. It would keep it numb and allow her to work.

She scanned the area but the suubatar didn't look frightened, so she collected her boots and blaster before wringing out her clothes and stripping down to change. Padmé was slipping into a new shirt when movement to her left brought her around, her blaster jumping into her hand.

Her eyes narrowed in surprise as she took in the sight before her; some of the strangest looking Anosians she'd ever seen. They were about half her height - and she wasn't exactly tall for a human - and decked out in clan colors she'd never before seen. There were three of them, watching her suspiciously, jabbering in a form of broken Anosian so that she only caught every second or third word.

Padmé kept her blaster level, her eyes darting around to check for more of them.

"Who you?"

She continued to search as the middle of the Anosians addressed her. "I'm Captain Naberrie. Who are you?"

They jabbered back and forth for a minute before the same one answered again. "We Gwurran."

"Gwurran?" Padmé, satisfied they were alone, brought her full attention back to them. "I've never met one of your kind before."

The 'speaker' wrinkled his nose. "We hide. Good good at hiding."

"I see." Padmé placed her back against the suubatar, wondering if there were more of them she couldn't see. "What can I do for you?"

"You in home. Why you here?"

Ah. Padmé could understand that. "My suubatar brought me." She patted the beast with one hand, but never let the three Gwurran out of her blaster sights. "My companion and I were up there," she indicated the trail up the cliff, "and he fell. I've come to search for him."

"Dead, dead. No survive fall."

Padmé felt her stomach flop, sinking down into the tips of her boots. "You've seen him?"

"He stinking up water. Bad bad for taste."

"Can you take me to him?" She finally lowered the blaster. It was possible these Gwurran weren't familiar with human physiology. And couldn't just accept their word that he was dead; not when it appeared that he'd struck the water, as she'd hoped. Skywalker was likely alive through some Jedi trick..

"We bring to you? Take dead bye bye?"

Padmé shook her head, holstering her weapon. "No, if he's not dead, he might be injured. I need you to take me to him."

The Gwurran discussed it again and finally nodded. "Big beastie can't come. Leave here." The Gwurran motioned at the suubatar.

Padmé hesitated. All of their remaining supplies were on the suubatar. If Anakin couldn't be moved and he was a long way off, she wouldn't be able to help him without them. But then... She grabbed the smallest of the packs and opened it. Another med pack, rations, a bedroll and extra blankets. She checked her jacket pockets and found the two spare power clips for her blaster. Her synth rope had disappeared with Skywalker, but she'd seen something that resembled it blowing in the breeze about half-way up to where the other suubatar's remains lay.

She didn't think. The bag was light enough and she dared add the medpac she'd just opened, some changes of clothing and the outside cover of their tent. She didn't have the strength to carry the whole thing. She added more food rations and finally closed the bag. "Will my suubatar be alright here?"

The Gwurran motioned behind and slightly into the water. There, in the side of the cliff, was an indent that appeared to be a cave. She smiled. Placing the back on the ground she led the suubatar into the cave and placed some of the food they'd brought for the beasts on the ground. Water was plentiful so she had no fear of that. Finally she returned to the Gwurran, had to chase them out of the bag, and shouldered it.

"I'm ready; lead on."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Padmé was led through several small crevasses and cracks, some of which she had to turn sideways to squeeze her way through. She was led by patient guides. The bacta bandages on her side and hands held as she followed, the sun beating down through the rocks in places, blessedly held at bay in others. They walked for several hours, away from where Padmé had awoken, and finally emerged into a small, sheltered cove where the water pooled to one side of a rocky shelf.

Trees, so rare on this world, flourished in the sandy soil, stunted by lack of sunlight, but blooming with exotic scents and fruits. The water was clear as crystal, a color that matched Anakin's eyes, and cool. But it wasn't the beauty of the surroundings or the smells that caught Padmé's attention as they entered the place. It was the sight of the heap of clothing lying on the stones where it had been dragged from the water. Inside the clothing was the shape of a man the same size as her companion. Moisture had run off the cloth and pooled, slowly seeping its way across the rock shelf and back to the pool.

"Anakin!" Padmé let out a cry, leaving her guides behind, and darted to the shelf, jumping a small estuary in the process. She landed beside him with a jarring stride, her own wounds protesting the rough treatment of the last several hours. She knelt, headless of the pain in her side, and brushed his hair from his face.

He didn't move, didn't so much as blink or breathe at her touch. She shook his shoulder. "Anakin, wake up!"

He didn't move and she pushed him onto his back so she could see his face. It was pale, but not the gray of lifelessness. What was wrong with him? Padmé placed her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat and closed her eyes when she didn't hear anything. She didn't lift her head, her mind spinning, her side protesting such an awkward position.

Was it a Jedi thing? A way of avoiding pain?

_Thump_

Padmé jerked, the faint sound, so startling that she lifted her head. She immediately put it back down, squeezing her eyes shut, and hoping she hadn't been imagining things. She lifted her chrono, watching as the second ticked by. Fixated, she held her breath, not daring to move or breathe as she hoped she hadn't been imagining things.

_Thump_

Her own heart leapt into her throat. She counted softly, unconsciously, with the chrono as it kept time. _eight, nine, ten..._

_Thump_

She finally lifted her head and let out a shaky laugh. "You are alive, you sneak! How dare you?" He didn't twitch, didn't move, and she frowned. "I said, how dare you? Not only did you scare me, but you make me care! You inconsiderate, self-centered, stuck up - blast you, Skywalker, wa-!"

She jumped as he suddenly inhaled deeply and then coughed, sputtering, as the water that had been trapped in his lungs came up. Padmé threw her weight against his side and pushed him over to help. Anakin coughed raggedly, spitting up water as Padmé rolled him over on his front, his breath coming in wheezing gasps that were punctured by coughing fits and more water.

Padmé backed off as the coughing fits died down, confident he wasn't going to die on her, and waited. She took the opportunity to look at him. His clothing was still intact, having been built for this kind of thing, and his muscles rippled along his shoulders as he twisted, his face lying on the rock. A very handsome face framed by silky curls that begged for her touch.

She didn't though. Her heart had gone into over drive when she'd seen him lying so still upon that rock. She'd felt her stomach hit her boots again, her fears clamoring for attention even as she'd felt something inside her shrivel and die. Until she'd heard the faint sound of his heart beat. She'd never heard a sweeter sound in her life.

And it confused her.

Anakin finally quieted, the water purged from his system, and looked up, propping himself on his forearms. Their gazes locked for a heartbeat and her heart hammered against her ribs as if trying to break free. _His eyes really are the same color as the water_. Padmé squashed the thought. She didn't need to be thinking any more about his eyes. "Feeling better?"

"Much. How about you?"

"Never better."

Anakin's lips twitched. "I think the wound in your side says otherwise."

Padmé managed a faint smile. "I'll live. I'm surprised you did, though."

"Me too." He looked around, as if taking notice of their situation for the first time. Which, she reflected, he probably was. "Where are we?"

"About four hours from my suubatar and the canyon. When you die, Skywalker, you sure make it a production. The Gwurran thought you were dead."

Anakin arched his eyebrows. "Gwurran?"

She nodded towards the entrance where the three Gwurran were watching in silence, completely shocked by his resurrection. Anakin turned his head, shifting into a sitting position; one that face the three Anosians. A smile lit his face. "Hello."

The Gwurran were shocked from their stupor and began chattering between themselves excitedly. The bounded over and began touching Anakin; his hair, his face, his shoulders - as if not believing he was real.

"I assure you, my small friends, I am alive."

"How you do that?"

"How how?"

Anakin glanced back at Padmé and then looked once more at the Gwurran who were circling him, poking and prodding him excitedly. "I used the Force to send myself into a hibernation healing trance to prevent injury and heal those I was going to get."

The Gwurran shrieked excitedly, dancing around and jabbering the same words over and over to each other.

"Force!"

"Medic!"

Padmé froze, their whole purpose for this trip coming rushing back - how had she forgotten it? Medic? As in Barriss? Jealousy surged through her instantly, the strength of it stealing her breath even as she beat it back. She had a job to do and, like it or not, finding Barriss was her job. "Have you seen other humans? Other Force users?"

The "speaker" nodded excitedly. "We take take you!"

Anakin pushed to his feet and Padmé could see the shift in his stance. He was expectant, excited - as much as he allowed himself to be - and eager. He was looking forward to his reunion with Barriss. She pushed the jealous feeling crawling through her gut away and rose to her own feet. Without looking at him, or the excited jabbering Gwurran, Padmé moved towards the bag. The Gwurran cut her off, and Anakin reached out to grab her arm, halting her steps.

"Padmé."

She didn't turn, though he applied pressure indicating he wished her to. She took a deep breath and managed to find a cocky smile. Her hurt was buried deep as she finally turned to look at him. She appeared self-assured, but inside she was trembling from his touch. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet, Skywalker. Or are you just afraid of all the juicy tidbits I have to tell her?"

His eyes narrowed and he let her go. "I _was_ going to thank you for coming after me, Captain. But I see now you were just afraid of losing your precious contract. Force forbid you have _my_ death on your conscience - if you have one."

Padmé felt the blow keenly and it left her momentarily speechless.

He brushed past her, moving to join the Gwurran. He scooped up the pack from where she'd dropped it earlier, and finally turned his head in her direction - but he didn't look at her. "Coming, Captain?"

Padmé balled her hands into fists, echoing his prayer mockingly. "_Force forbid_ you leave me behind."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"That vaunted sense of fair-play the Jedi are famous for?"

He finally met her gaze. "The rationale of a man who needs _you_ to get him and the other Jedi off this rock."

"So charm another Captain; I hear Jedi are famous for that." Her tone was scathing and hurt. She wanted him to hurt as much as she had when she'd thought him dead. "Or is that beyond the abilities of the all powerful Jedi Master Skywalker."

"Force persuasion is Obi-Wan's forté; not mine." He narrowed his gaze suspiciously. "You're not turning your back on this job are you, Captain?"

"Just the infuriating perks!"

"You invited me on this misadventure, remember?"

"I should have my head examined! What sane person wants to spend weeks cooped up with philosophy sprouting, self-suffering, infuriatingly handsome Jedi Master?"

Anakin's lips twitched and the glint went out of his eyes. "Why Captain; I didn't know you cared."

"Ha!" She spat the word at him and stalked across the rocks, jumping the estuary for a second time and almost losing her balance. She glared at him, as if it was his fault. "It has nothing to do with caring, you insufferably superior pain in the-"

"Ah, ah, let's not expand the Gwurran's vocabulary too much today." Anakin's tone was amused. "They probably haven't heard much profanity."

Padmé's eyes blazed for a moment. She was out of control and she knew it. She took a deep breath and let it go. Being angry with him wouldn't solve anything. He wouldn't understand and was forbidden to even try. She managed to find a pointed look and cocky smile somewhere in the depths of her being; her bravado shielding her true feelings. "It's not the Gwurran I was looking to _expand_ my horizons with, Skywalker."

He flushed, turning away, effectively ending their conversation and Padmé was glad of it. He was making her think and feel things she hadn't and had no interest in. It was safer if he avoided her. Safer for them both.

----------

The Gwurran were excitable little creatures, Padmé found herself thinking as they were setting up camp in another sheltered nook, steadily moving away from where she'd left the suubatar and further into the canyons. Excitable and excellent scavengers. Each carried a make-shift supply bag. Some were made out of grasses, for she'd learned that all Gwurran were taught to weave baskets at a young age - the better for gathering stones and other things - while others were made from discarded pieces of cloth or whatever else they'd been able to scavenge. Among the items they pulled from their packs were familiar, if outdated, ration packets.

Padmé let Anakin do most of the work, for the pain in her side had come back not long after they'd left the crag where he'd been found. Determined not to owe him anything, she'd kept her peace and their pace, never once complaining. She was fuming inside, a ball of hurt and frustration that was clamoring for release.

_Blasted, infuriating Jedi_!

She should have let him where he'd been pulled from the river, turned her suubatar around and headed back for the _Blue Skies_. Then she wouldn't have seen him in a death-like state. She wouldn't have felt that surge of irrational panic, the feeling like she'd been hit in the solar plexus. And then, when he'd awakened, she'd have never have felt the sinking, sickening feeling that had accompanied his reaction to Barriss' nearness.

Of course, if she'd done that, she'd have never forgiven herself for turning away from him. She'd have tortured herself hourly with what-ifs until driven mad enough to return. Only by then it'd have been too later and she'd be even worse off than she was now! She watched as Anakin worked, the dying sunlight reflecting off the water nearby to give his hair an almost sun-burnished look. She hardened her heart against the feelings his boyish image evoked.

She couldn't win.

She turned her back on the camp, one hand idly caressing the butt of her blaster for reassurance, the other pressed tightly against the patch on her wound. She could feel it throbbing under her hand, could feel the trickle of blood down her side as the pressure on the bandage became too much. She ignored it, too preoccupied by her dark thoughts to mind her wound.

_He wouldn't care if I died anyway_. The waspish thought was accompanied with a scowl. It would serve him right if she died because of her injury. _Ungrateful wretch_.

"See something?"

Her hand twitched closed on the grip of her blaster at the soft words. She relaxed it consciously, though she wanted nothing more than to pull it on him - just to see a reaction. "Nothing a mighty Jedi would trouble themselves with."

"If it concerns the safety of the camp, it's worth it."

She willed him to leave her alone. "A few night flies, and some fish, Skywalker. Satisfied?"

"I sense you're displeased with me."

"Oh really?" She turned to face him. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

He didn't rise to her taunt. "It's hard to miss, Captain. You're radiating it through the Force."

She regarded him archly. "I can see you're confused, Skywalker, but I don't need to be a Jedi to figure that one out. You want to know what you did and when. You want to know what happened to give you a respite from my attentions. Only now you're faced with scorn and you're wishing I'd simply go back to trying to seduce you. Close enough, or did I leave anything out?"

He didn't respond, but his lips had parted and she heard the shocked breath he inhaled.

Padmé looked away again, staring out across the shallow water. "Go back to your supper, Skywalker, and don't play with the big girls. You'll lose because you're not equipped to win."

He shifted his stance and she could feel his eyes boring into her, questioning, wondering how she saw through him so easily. Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. She'd been playing this game when he'd still been learning to lift rocks with his mind. "Now you're wondering how I know all of this."

His hand landed on her shoulder, spinning her around to meet his gaze head on. "How-?"

Padmé winced as the rough motion pulled at her wounds and stretched the bandages. "Easy, Skywalker, I'm damaged goods." It came out before she could stop it. Damaged goods. She almost winced again. Thankfully he was naive enough to miss the double meaning.

His hand fell away but the intensity in his gaze remained.

Padmé met his gaze head-on, pressing her hand harder against her side to still the burn. "I've been around the galaxy, Skywalker. I've learned to read body language, looks and even lips when it comes to humans. I never would have made that promise on my ship if you hadn't been sending me signals."

"I never-"

"You did." She smiled, her lips twisting into a cocky grin. "Now you're going to tell me I'm crazy. I'm not; just observant. It pays to be in my line of work."

He searched her face, his expression carefully neutral, but she could see the question in his gaze before he asked it. She remained silent, wondering if he'd find the courage to ask, but somehow knowing it would go unsaid.

He moistened his lips and then shocked her. "Did I hurt you, Padmé?"

She turned away.

"Look at me when I talk to you, Captain."

_Hurt her?_ She stared out across the water, not hearing his words, but focused on their predecessors. Had he hurt her? She laughed bitterly, but didn't turn to face him; not yet. "You can't hurt me, Skywalker; I won't let you. When this whole thing is said and done you'll be moving on to some new hideout with your precious Jedi Barriss to make Jedi babies. And I... I'll go back to hunting for your missing minions, picking up fares and doing daring runs that will eventually end my life in a blaze of glory." She finally turned to look at him, suddenly feeling very old and jaded. She felt the need to repeat herself, the ensure he understood. "Did you hurt me? You can't hurt me; I won't let you."

"It's not like that."

"No?" Padmé reached up to brush a tendril of hair from her cheek irritably. "Welcome to real life beyond the Temple, Skywalker. It's time to open up your eyes and see that it's _exactly_ like that. These missing Jedi are the key to an enduring Jedi order. Did you honestly think that mothers and fathers would be willing to give up their children to an order that, by belonging to it, means instant death? Did you think that you could just go about setting up another Academy without fear of repercussions? You've seen what happens with your own eyes - you can't be that naive."

"I believe that darkness can't last forever. I believe that the day of the Jedi will come again; we only have to sustain and nurture the spirit until that day comes."

"And how exactly were you expecting to go about getting more Jedi? If that day is two hundred years down the road and Jedi are hunted for that long no one but family would remember. The only way for the Jedi to ensure their survival is to procreate. That means a mate and children. Or didn't you notice that the Jedi I'm after are mostly female?"

Anakin flushed and Padmé knew instantly that his thoughts had never drifted this way. She stared at him, the scorn leaving her voice. "You honestly thought Jedi could maintain themselves the way they have been? Where, pray-tell, were you going to get your students?"

"We haven't discussed that-"

Padmé began to laugh. Softly at first, the sound rolling through her belly and out through her lips, the ridiculousness of the situation and the stunned expression on his face too much for her. She immediately regretted the outburst as her laughter turned into a pain-filled hiss. "Maybe you and the other Masters should have a long talk about the future of the Jedi when you get back. Personally I think they have Barriss all mapped out as your mate."

Anakin blinked. "Attachment is-"

"-is forbidden, I know." She winced, bending slightly over her side to ease the pain. "Just think about it, Skywalker. Your order is faced with a changing galaxy and a future of uncertainty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crawl into my blanket and spend my night trying to sleep."

"Padmé, I-"

"Don't." She met his gaze wearily, suddenly exhausted. "Let it go and just think about it. Ask yourself if Barriss is someone you can see yourself with for the rest of your life."

Anakin didn't move as she moved towards where he'd set up their blankets under a make-shift tent. She settled on hers, biting her lip as she eased herself back. Her breathing was shallow; her face covered in perspiration by the time she found a comfortable position that didn't strain her side. She eyes closed in determination, but Padmé knew, no matter how tired she was, she would be getting no sleep this night.

---------

"You should have gone into politics."

Padmé didn't open her eyes from where she was stretched out on her bed roll. She felt worse this morning, not better, lethargic and the fear had crept in through the night that she was losing and had lost too much blood. "Go to sleep, Skywalker."

"I can't."

She sighed, opening her eyes to find him nearby, his back against the ravine wall, his eyes gleaming in the faint light as he watched her. "Maybe if you'd close your eyes and think about something other than your meeting with Barriss tomorrow you could."

"I'm not thinking about tomorrow."

She pushed herself up on her elbows with a wince, barely able to keep her head up as she turned her head to look at him fully. "Try thinking of a meadow with nothing in it instead of a certain Smuggler in her underwear; you'll rest easier."

"Is that the voice of experience talking?"

She slid back to the blanket, unable to support herself as her arms buckled. "I've never had your problem with females. I sleep just fine thank you."

"Then how come you're not?"

She focused her gaze on the dark peak of the tent overhead, willing him to go away, but the answer slid through her mind with a chill. _Because if I do, I don't know if I'll ever wake up_.

"Captain?"

He sounded concerned. "What is it, Skywalker?"

His touch would have made her jump if she'd had the energy to expend. His hand slid up her arm and she felt a chill slide over her damp skin. Her arms refused to move and, for a moment, she seriously questioned if she intended to push him away or pull him closer.

"You're burning with fever, Padmé." His tone was alarmed as he came closer, couching at her side, his hands searching for her pulse and her temperature. "Padmé?"

"I'm here." Her voice sounded faint even to her own ears.

"I have to put you into a hibernation trance."

She felt like she was floating, his voice coming from far away. "Sounds nice."

"It's risky, but your body will slow to a manageable level and you won't lose anymore blood." His hand was gentle, concerned and blessedly cool against her forehead. "I'll say _Blue Skies_ when I want you to wake up, alright?"

She nodded, barely more than a twitch of her head. Her weakened state provided little resistance as Anakin drew on the Force and placed her into hibernation.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"_Blue Skies_."

Padmé woke slowly, the sound echoing around in the cobwebs of her brain, drawing her from peace filled nothingness and back into the world of colors. Slender, but strong hands were on her forehead, firmly pressing down, the finger tips linked to darkened fingers which arched gracefully backwards with dark tattoos on each knuckle. The tattoos continued upwards, only to be lost in the fabric of tightly cuffed sleeves. Grey sleeves. Padmé blinked, following the fabric upwards and met a pair of concerned brown eyes, the double row of tattoos beneath drawing her gaze immediately.

The pressure on her forehead relaxed and, as if the pain had been drawn through those fingers, the first thing she noticed was that she was no longer sore. The pain that had been her companion for days was gone. "Barriss Offee?"

She grimaced, her voice little more than a croak, her throat dry as if she hadn't had water in some time.

The Mirialan Jedi smiled. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Captain Naberrie."

Padmé opened her mouth but a piece of moistened cloth was placed against her lips and she was forced to swallow the moisture it held. She felt rejuvenated, despite the slowness of her thoughts, as if she'd spent a week sleeping solid. A week without dreams of a certain dark haired, blue eyed Jedi Master tempting her and keeping her from her rest.

The thought of Anakin brought her up and off the bed roll, only to have Barriss' gentle, but firm, hands press down on her shoulders. "You have been healed, Captain, but your wounds are only freshly sealed. It would not be wise to make any sudden movements if you wish it to stay that way."

Padmé slumped back against the mat, looking away from Barriss' gaze. "Where's Skywalker?"

"Something you need, Captain?"

He sounded nearby, but she couldn't see him. "What the hell happened?

Barriss moved back, but not before Padmé say the possessive flash in her gaze, and the thinning of her lips. Her hands dropped away from Padmé's shoulders and she stood, taking several steps out of Padmé's line of sight. Padmé turned her head in time to see Barriss place a hand on Anakin's arm, her fingers curling deliberately about it as she leaned in close, saying something in a soft murmur.

Padmé's read her lips with little difficulty as Barriss turned to give her another look and then disappeared from the tent, her robe whispering against the rocky ground. Anakin stared after Barriss for a contemplative moment before shaking himself and moving to crouch beside the pallet where Padmé lay. His smile was relieved as he took one of her hands. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Padmé. I had the Gwurran get Barriss when it became clear that moving you any further could have cost you your life."

"I seem to remember something about a hibernation something-or-other?"

He nodded, his thumb smoothing the skin on the back of her fingers absently. "I did what I could to give you the time you were going to need. You'll be weak for a few days. It took Barriss almost two days of deep meditation and Force communication linked with you to repair the damage."

"That long?" Padmé blinked incredulously. "It was a scratch!"

"The shan nicked something deeper than what we could see on the surface. It's why the bleeding wouldn't stop; if we'd continued onward you'd have eventually bled to death."

Padmé fell silent for a long minute, before telling him bluntly; "She doesn't like me."

"She's a healer; she likes everyone."

Padmé's lips kicked into a half-smile. "You're forgetting that I can read lips. I saw what she said to you. About keeping your hands to yourself and not letting mine wander." Her gaze went pointedly to their joined hands.

Anakin flushed but didn't release his hold. "Barriss and I were a long time ago, Captain and I now outrank her; she can't give me orders"

"She still wants you." Padmé informed him. "I'm getting every warning sign in the book to back off - and I haven't even been awake for ten minutes!"

He chuckled. "You're cranky in the morning."

"Damn straight!" She made to sit up and froze when Anakin's free hand slid around her shoulders to assist her. Their faces were brought close together as he pulled her, taking most of her weight off the mat, and helped her lean back against the rock face. He brought their joined hands to his chest, not relinquishing his hold.

Padmé looked away, counting backwards from ten once her back was against the wall before turning to look at him again. He hadn't moved. His breath feathered across her cheek as his eyes took in the slight flush of her cheeks.

"I thought I'd lost you for a minute there, Padmé."

His gaze was intense, concerned, echoing the tumultuous feelings he'd been experiencing since her time in the healing sleep. His eyes were dark, yearning and intention clear in their depths despite the war she still saw raging. He wanted her. He wanted to kiss her and her near brush with death had hammered home just how petty the war between want and restraints was. She saw everything in his eyes; a clear window into his thoughts and feelings for her and he wasn't trying to hide it

Padmé swallowed to get past the dryness in her throat, carefully keeping her gaze neutral. "You can't lose what you don't own, Skywalker."

He pulled back, his gaze closing and Padmé tried not to notice that the moment she'd been hoping for since her promise to have him had come - and gone. She could have had him, could have kissed him and been kissed in return. Could have felt the fire crawl through her belly, igniting passions she hadn't been aware of as dormant. But she didn't. Instead she pushed him away.

"Still jealous, Captain?"

Padmé closed her eyes wearily, leaning back against the wall and pulled her hand from his. "Just weary, Skywalker. It's been a rough ride the last couple of weeks."

"I'll leave you alone."

She wanted to call him back, to ask him to stay. She wanted that brief flash of camaraderie she'd seen when she'd first awakened. But she knew, as her heart ached, that Barriss was on the other side of the tent door. She narrowed her eyes to slits as Anakin walked away; stubbornly pushing aside the ache in her heart and the sting of tears as Barriss, visible through the flap of the tent, slid her arms around Anakin's neck and pulled his head downwards.

Padmé closed her eyes to blot out the image. She was in no shape to contest Barriss' claim on Anakin and needed the Jedi healer, for the moment, to get well. A time for confrontation would come later, for now she would concentrate on regaining her strength. And ignoring the sharp stabbing pains ripping through the vicinity of her heart as the image of Barriss pulling Anakin down for a kiss replayed itself over and over in her mind.

She'd lost.

----------

Padmé was down and out for another day before she'd decided that enough was enough.

Two mornings after her revival and "miraculous" healing, she woke with a firm resolution. She was leaving the tent today. Her side was still sore, but the wound had healed over. Her shoulders, thighs, hands and arms were a mess of scabs and she felt the distinct need for a bath. She rolled to her uninjured side and was putting her hands beneath her to help push herself to her feet when the tent flap moved.

Barriss entered, as was her ritual, without announcing herself. She stopped just inside the flap. "Going somewhere, Captain?"

"Yeah," Padmé told her darkly, pushing herself into a sitting position and then making to stand. "Out of this damned tent."

Barriss frowned, putting one hand out, and used the Force to keep her in place. "That's unwise, Captain."

Padmé glared daggers at the other woman. "The hell it is! I've been flat on my back for the better part of a week. The bleeding has stopped, the scabs have formed and I'm in desperate need of a bath!"

The first sign of amusement Padmé had seen crept into Barriss' gaze. "Desperate, Captain?"

"Yeah," Padmé cocked her head at the other woman. "Don't tell me _you_ like to go the better part of a week without a wash."

Barriss chuckled, a surprisingly low sound Padmé had not been expecting. "No one likes the inconvenience, no. I wouldn't recommend it just yet, however."

"The hell with your recommendation." But Padmé was unable to hold back a grin as she said it. "I'm dirty. I need a bath. Either you let me go now, or I'll piss and moan and make camp life generally miserable until you do."

"I could simply put you back in a hibernation trance."

"Try it." Padmé's good humor fled. "And you'll be looking down the business end of my blaster from a distance you won't be able to block or dodge."

Barriss examined her patient critically but Padmé's glare never wavered. She meant it; if Barriss made so much as a move towards her, she's snap her blaster up so fast, the Jedi's reflexes wouldn't be able to save her. Barriss seemed to come to the same conclusion and the pressure holding Padmé in place eased.

Barriss' words were even and clipped, as she spoke. "It appears there is nothing _I_ can say that will persuade you otherwise. As the healer I do suggest you don't remain in the water long. It will loosen the scabs and allow for a relapse of infection. I won't be here to accelerate your healing."

"You're leaving?" Padmé's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Barriss' tone turned casual but her words sounded deliberately cruel to Padmé's ears. "Anakin has informed me of your purpose here; of being sent to... discover my whereabouts. He's also filled me in on the current state of the order." Barriss' lips tilted and Padmé's heart sank. She knew that smile; she'd used it herself when telling wives of a husband's infidelity. "He's also explained, quite _thoroughly_, on how I can help in maintaining it."

Padmé's hand clenched in the blankets, fighting down the urge to lunge at the other woman and claw the smugness from her gaze. Her blaster looked tempting; too tempting for a woman who shouldn't have cared one way or another about a certain sexy, bedroom-eyed Jedi Master. She managed to keep her tone neutral. "Did he mention the search for the others?"

Barriss' smile turned malicious. "His explanation involved such little _talking_; I think he failed to mention it."

Padmé resisted an even stronger urge, barely, to snap up her blaster and shoot the smug Jedi right between the eyes. Her hands were well tangled in the blankets and she was sorely tempted to use her feet. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. "And despite this... _conversation_, you're leaving?"

"Only for a couple of days, Captain. Long enough to collect my things for the trek back to your ship."

The thought of having this _woman_ on her ship made Padmé's blood boil. Something in her gaze or her expression must have warned Barriss that enough was enough for the Jedi turned to leave. "Behave yourself while I'm gone Captain. It wouldn't do to have you on the only healer's bad side."

Padmé lunged for her blaster as the Jedi stepped from the tent. She caught a glimpse of a bare-chested Anakin near the cooking fire before the tent flapped shut. His look was for Barriss, his smile one that Padmé herself would have given much to have directed her way.

She stopped her train of thought. _You need a man now do you Captain? A man to smile at you and prove your worth?_ she asked herself coldly. She deliberately ignored the tender flashes she's seen of Anakin over the past few weeks, bringing to mind his distant and anti-social behavior. _Hardly! He can have Barriss. Two cold fish like that deserve each other!_

Padmé retrieved a length of folded blanket that had yet to be used and emerged from the tent. She caught a glimpse of Anakin and Barriss, their faces close together and turned her gaze away determinedly. She heard them exchange goodbyes and glanced back only once to see Barriss, in the company of several of the Gwurran, departing their campsite to collect her things.

Padmé marched away and towards the edge of the stream that gurgled in one corner of their campsite. Carefully stripping down to her underwear for the first time since her trek through the canyons began, she assessed her body critically; completely unaware that she'd drawn Anakin's full attention.

Her shoulders and thighs showed deep puncture wounds, all of which were covered in tiny dots of brown indicating that they were healing. Her arms were covered in a crisscross of slash lines, the superficial wounds mostly closed after Barriss' enforced healing sessions. They were still covered in lines of scabs but appeared almost fully healed. Turning to get better light, and unintentionally giving Anakin a full profile view of her uninjured side, she examined her midriff wound.

It was closed, a thin layer of pink skin and scab holding it together and preventing any kind of bleeding. She lifted her injured side's arm and felt, carefully, at the scabs under the curve of her breast. She gently, with a whisper soft touch, traced the marks back to their starting point.

"They're fully healed, if that's what you're wondering. Barriss doesn't leave things half finished."

Padmé wasn't the least surprised that Skywalker had sought her out now that his precious Jedi Barriss had left camp. She continued her examination, not sparing him a glance. "Lonely, Master Jedi? I'm sure Barriss will be back soon enough and you two can go back to sharing your bed rolls."

"Jealous, Captain?"

"A little." She looked up at that, her lips kicking into a half-smile. "And impressed. I told you I'd crack you before we found her, Skywalker. That didn't happen so I conceded. Enjoy your Barriss and the multitude of Jedi babies they'll be expecting from her. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to enjoy my bath in peace."

He stared at her as if she'd just punched him. "Like that?"

"I was intending to bathe nude - without company." She sent him a pointed look, lowering her hands and resting them idly on her hips, one cocked confidently. "I don't think your Barriss would appreciate the way you're looking at me right now."

"She's not my Barriss."

"But she believes you're hers. I'm no poacher, Skywalker, no matter how good you kiss." She turned away, tucking her thumbs into the waist band of her underpants.

Anakin grabbed her, whirling her about and against him.

Skin met skin as her stomach connected with his, the tops of her breasts brushing against his bare chest for a fleeting moment. Her gaze flew to his as her hands came up to rest flat against his chest. He stared down at her, his gaze unguarded and she _saw_ the conflict he was fighting. Against expectations and against himself; feeling warring with discipline. His gaze was as open as the morning she'd awoke from the healing trance. "You're only poaching if it's someone else' territory."

Padmé glared at him, her fingers inching upwards to trace the scratch lines on his chest. "These claw marks on your chest are as good as having a ring on your finger, Master Jedi."

He searched her gaze, his expression unreadable. "She initiated it."

"And you couldn't resist?" Padmé's tone was scornful. "You've resisted me for weeks and she's been here less than five days."

He winced. "I'd say old habits die hard, but it wouldn't be the truth."

"Than what is?"

"She's safe, Padmé. Desire and passion; but controllable."

"Then what am I?"

"Lightning. Fire." He traced his hands up her back, his fingers brushing against the clasp of her bra even as they continued to skim upwards. "You're the unknown, the wild card in sabaac. You're dangerous and unpredictable. A taste of temptation, raging desire and boundless passions. You're the uncontrollable."

Padmé stared up at him. His eyes had turned midnight blue, his fierce internal conflict slowly turning in her favor. She saw the intention in his gaze, read what he intended to do. He wanted to kiss her and was losing the inner battle not to. She hardened her heart against him even as she fought to maintain the steadiness in her voice. She _wanted_ him to kiss her again, despite the situation.

"Tell me that when Barriss returns and I might believe you, Skywalker."

She poked him in the chest with her index finger. "Get this, and get this good. I won't be your dirty secret. I won't be the woman you come running to for a good time. You can't use me and discard me because I'll get under your skin and in your blood. One taste won't be enough; you'll always crave more." She jerked out of his grasp, stumbling a little before catching herself. She regarded him coolly. "Until you come to terms with that keep your paws to yourself - or on Barriss. She might be the kind of woman who enjoys her lover fantasizing about someone else, but I'm not."

"Padmé-"

"Save it for someone who cares." She told him curtly. She turned her back on him and waded into the water, ignoring his presence even as she mentally cursed him for staying so she couldn't strip down. She didn't trust him - or herself - if she did. She waited until she heard him give up, his boots cracking against the stone of their campsite as he paced away. Her shoulders relaxed as his gaze left them and she sank down into the cool water.

The battle lines had been drawn, the stakes raised. If Anakin wanted her he would have to fight for her and now, with her gauntlet thrown down at his feet, he knew this wasn't a game to her anymore. She was playing for keeps if he decided to step into the ring. Yet, even as she sank below the surface of the water, letting the gentle current tug at her hair, she wondered what had possessed her to say such things and why she cared.

The whisper of the water over her skin held no answers.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Anakin was silent as Padmé joined him at the fire thirty minutes later. He wordlessly held out what they'd saved for her for breakfast.

"Thanks." She collected the tin and settled on a nearby rock, more comfortable now that she was dressed as she was used to, her blaster strapped firmly in place on her thigh. She dug in. "Sulking doesn't suit you."

Her casual comment drew his gaze up sharply. "I wasn't."

"You were. The tilt of your eyebrows and the slight pout in your lips gives you away." She grinned, spooning the first bite into her mouth and making a face. "Stang! This stuff is horrible!"

"Either eat it or go hungry."

"Lighten up, Skywalker. Just making conversation."

"You've made it abundantly clear you don't _want_ to speak with me Captain."

"On the contrary." She smirked, taking another bite. "I don't want to do anything _but_ speak with you. Your Barriss might get it in her head to forget her Jedi training and be rid of me if I did otherwise."

"She's _not_ my Barriss!" Anakin's exasperation was accompanied with a sour expression. "Quit calling her that."

Padmé merely grinned, tongue in cheek. "If the saber fits."

The look he shot her was dark. "This saber doesn't fit, now would you kindly drop the subject?"

"Performance issues?" Padmé snickered.

"Drop it."

"The way I dropped you?"

"Over the side of a cliff?"

Her smirk was self-satisfied. "I was thinking more in a figurative sense. It must really irk Barriss you can't perform because of me."

"It has nothing to do with you!"

"Ha! So you do admit it; you can't perform!"

"Insufferable woman!"

"Prude," she tossed back, her favorite comeback to his exasperation. She placed her dish aside, watching him carefully. "Maybe we can fix that."

Anakin jerked. "What?"

Padmé rose to her feet and stalked slowly towards him. "I've had enough of your prudishness, Master Jedi. I think it's time I did something about it."

"Rule one."

Padmé stopped in front of him, crouching but not touching. "Am I touching you, Skywalker?" Her voice was a throaty purr. "Tell me something."

He swallowed hard, and she saw the signs of tension and frayed nerves she'd come to associate with his eventual capitulation. "Anything if you'll back away."

She leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of him and bringing their faces nose to nose. "Does she turn you on, Master Jedi? Does she make your blood burn, send shivers of longing down your spine? Does she leave you with sleepless nights full of passionate kisses and images of sweaty limbs entwined in hot, steamy-"

His hand slapped over her mouth, cutting off her words. His eyes were dark now, the stormy sea of black she'd come to recognize as Anakin losing the battle with his control. "You're playing with fire, Captain."

Her tongue darted out to lick the pads at the base of his fingers. The barest of touches, but his eyes flickered in response and she knew, that he knew, that she knew how it affected him. She tilted her eyebrows in challenge. She felt the shudder that slid through his body. She lifted one hand, her eyes twinkling, and held up a finger.

Anakin's gaze went to it and she poked his hand and then held it up again. His hand dropped as he realized what he'd done.

"Rule one, Skywalker." She grinned cockily. "You broke it, not me."

"I'll answer your question if you'll answer mine."

Padmé's lips spread into a smirk. She hadn't moved from their close position and she could almost feel the effect her nearness was having on him. What he didn't know was the amount of willpower it took to hold herself back. "I never could resist a bargain."

His eyes flickered. "Are you bragging or complaining about your sleepless nights, Captain?"

Padmé stared at him blankly. _He knows_. The words echoed around in her mind as she stared at his knowing look. _He knows! He knows about the dreams. The frustration. He knows about your fantasies and your -_ She cut off her line of thought and managed a shaky smile to deny his accusation. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?"

She shrugged. "You've given me nothing to be sleepless abo-."

The distance between their lips was closed so quickly Padmé had no time for thought, only reaction. Her mouth had been open, in the process of forming words when he'd claimed it and he did so boldly, hungrily, like a man possessed - or driven to the ragged edges of his control. His tongue darted into the open recesses of her mouth, claiming it boldly as his hands splayed across her back and delved into her hair. He dragged her down, across him, flattening her from chest to waist against him.

Padmé's arms went around his neck, her hands hungrily seeking the silk of his hair and finding it quickly. She buried her hands to her wrists, tilting his head possessively as she kissed him with a hunger that mirrored his own. She tasted desperation and passion on his lips and a hint of confusion. She banished it, thoroughly claiming his mouth as she ached to claim his body, her knees straddling his hips as she sank down to his lap.

Anakin used the leverage of the wall to push himself to his feet, never breaking the kiss, never losing the contact, and Padmé felt the low rumble in his chest more than heard it. Her knees slid over his hips, down across his thighs and finally, her feet touched the ground again, the tips of her boots making contact. He ravaged her mouth and she let him, teasing him with her teeth and the tip of her tongue even as fire spread from her belly, engulfing her limbs and making her thoughts hazy.

This kiss, so different from the last kiss they'd shared, sent her senses reeling and drained any coherent thought from her mind. There was only Anakin. The taste and feel of him as she was pulled flush against him. And the knowledge that she was on fire; a fire only he could quench.

He pulled away first, and she slowly opened her eyes, her senses reeling, the feeling like she's been put through a negative-G machine making it difficult to form any kind of coherent sentence. His gaze was stormy, dark with suppressed emotion and want. He spoke in low tones. "I haven't slept with Barriss."

She stared at him completely uncomprehending as his words were slow to sink into her brain. She recovered far slower than normal, her limbs still heavy, her knees shaky from the kiss that had rocked her to the core. She swallowed a couple of times and cleared her throat, knowing the confusion she couldn't hide would be plain on her face. "But... the nail trails-"

His grip tightening on her fractionally as his fingers splayed possessively across her back. "She caught me off guard the day you came out of the healing trance. It was her way of telling me she wanted things the way they used to be. And before you ask, yes, I did kiss her - or rather, she kissed me."

"And you expect me to believe you didn't enjoy it?" Padmé's heart skipped a beat as she took in the implications of his words. He hadn't succumbed to Barriss' charms? But why, when he'd been so eager to see her?

Anakin smiled wryly. "No. Because you probably wouldn't even if I was telling the truth."

She had to give him that. Nothing he could have said would have convinced her otherwise. She pulled away and out of his arms, using one hand to balance herself on the rocky shelf to the side before rising unsteadily to her feet. She stared at him, wondering what kind of game he was playing. Kissing both her and Barriss and enjoying them both? One if he couldn't have the other? Was that it? Was he just keeping his options open now that he'd had a chance to think about what she'd said regarding the next generation of Jedi?

She stepped back, watching him carefully, searching for any sign that she'd misunderstood him, but for once he was almost completely unreadable. Or her brain was simply too muddied by his kiss to understand what she was seeing objectively. The thought frustrated her to no end and a frown found its way onto her face. "You know Skywalker, I probably wouldn't believe even if you said you did. I have to hand it to you, though. You sure know how to keep 'em hanging."

He blinked, blindsided by her off-hand accusation - an accusation he didn't understand. "Keep what hanging?"

Padmé backed up, crossing her arms over her chest as she organized her thoughts. She stopped, planting one booted foot on a nearby rock and leaning forward on her knee as she regarded him silently. Was he toying with her or was he really serious?

"Padmé? What are you talking about?"

Her smile appeared; a wry tilt of her lips. "I was referring to the females around you, but if you can't even deduce that, you really are more naive than I thought."

He flushed, straightening his clothing and his posture. "I know enough."

She grinned roguishly. "Oh do you now? Enlighten me."

He pushed to his feet, his look dark as he stared at her from his position. Padmé could read his frustration in every line of his body, the way one of his hands was clenched at his side, and the other seemed to be relaxed. An un-observant observer would never have guessed his dark expression to be more than frustration with her words. An observant observer would have easily noted the strain around his mouth and eyes, the furious pulse at the base of his throat and noted the catch in his breathing.

Padmé assumed an indolent posture as she watched him, knowing he'd never pick up on the same physical cues she did, and cocked her head as she watched him fight with himself. Her grin widened. "There's more to knowing than simply knowing, Skywalker. Surely you're Jedi enough... man enough to know the difference between knowledge and experience."

He shook himself and she practically saw the way he cloaked himself in the Force, allowing the energies to wash away his frustration. But this time Padmé also saw that he had to fight for that cloak, that he wasn't having an easy time of banishing the emotions despite his Mastery of the unseen power. "I know." He replied softly, the tension ebbing from his face. "But I also know you're deliberately bating me. What's wrong Captain, surely a kiss isn't going to leave you sleepless."

Padmé's grin didn't falter. "Over a kiss? Like I was saying before you decided to get physical; you've given me nothing to be sleepless about, Skywalker. Maybe if you'd _experienced_ the galaxy like I have, you'd understand why."

His gaze narrowed. "Just how many... _experiences_ have you had, Captain?"

Padmé straightened. "Far more than you, Master Jedi. I haven't been so limited, or limiting, in my choices. Unlike the Jedi, I was never bound by any code other than my own."

"One without morals?"

Padmé smirked. "I'm sure you see it that way. Why don't you try looking beyond your precious order for a few minutes and take a look around you. Beyond me, beyond Barriss, and at the cultures you and your fellows fought so hard to protect. Just because we're different doesn't make us any less honorable or any less _worthy_ of your respect. Unlike you, I don't limit myself to those things I know."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to." Her smile disappeared. "You've judged me since the day we met based on my profession and _imagined_ indiscretions. All things in the horribly sordid past that your imagination has been torturing you with and rather than _ask_ you simply assume! Unlike you I've made no pretenses at what I am, Master Jedi. I am a jaded, bitter woman who wants to help make the galaxy a better place and earn a credit or two while I do."

"And sleep with half of it in the process."

"Ha!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll have you know I'm very picky about my partners - not that you would believe that, would you? You've already judged me and pronounced me guilty without a shred of evidence that I'm as wanton as you believe me to be!"

"Your actions speak for themselves, Captain."

Padmé's eyes narrowed. "Then my actions were wrong. I thought I saw in you a kindred spirit. Someone who had been ripped from the very fabric of their being by force and not choice. I thought I saw a core of compassion tempered with understanding. Someone who desired to make a difference. Now I simply see that all of your vaunted Jedi teachings about acceptance and understanding and little more than propaganda."

"Now who's making assumptions?" Anakin demanded evenly. "If it bothers you so much, why don't you just leave?"

"I will - I don't stay where I'm not wanted. Good day, Skywalker."

Anakin's jaw dropped as she turned on her heel, marched to the make-shift tent to collect her jacket and proceeded to head for the exit of their campsite back into the chasms and ravines that were days away from the single suubatar they had left.

Anakin moved belatedly, darting forward to grab her by the elbow as she was about to slip out of the campsite. He froze as the cool metal of Padmé's blaster was suddenly and precisely against his forehead, the end digging a round circle in the flesh between his eyes.

Padmé's brown eyes were as hard as her blaster. "Remove your hand."

Anakin did so, slowly, letting his fingers uncurl one at a time before pulling his hand away and outward. He saw perfectly from his angle staring down the barrel of her blaster that the safety was off and it was set to kill. If she wanted, she could have shot him there, at that moment, and he wouldn't have been able to do a thing to stop her. He licked his lips, staring beyond the barrel at the coldness of Padmé's gaze. "What... what about your fee?"

Padmé stepped back, leaving the blaster against his forehead, right between his eyes, until she was standing an arm's length away from him. "Unlike some Jedi I know, I never renegade on a job no matter how much - or how little, I'm being paid. I'll be back, but not until I'm ready. I find the company stifling."

The weight against Anakin's forehead suddenly vanished and Padmé stepped back into the canyon that separated their small camp from the rest of the river. Padmé kept one eye on the opening, her blaster in hand, and one eye on her path. Satisfied Anakin wasn't following her, she slipped further into the canyon.

He'd unnerved her this morning and she felt the need for some peace and quiet - some alone time. Some time to reevaluate her position and get some perspective. And, unfortunately, she knew she was going to need it.

---------

She was going to kill him, Padmé decided as she tossed another leaf from the small tree she'd found into the swirling waters of the river. Just for being arrogant and egotistical and making assumptions about the past she was _supposed_ to have lived. Talk about jumping to conclusions. She frowned.

Had she really done anything to dissuade his thinking, she wondered, watching as the leaves disappeared around the bend in the river. Her lips twisted. No. She hadn't. She'd encouraged him to think the worst of her, to think that she was a wonton, easy woman without morals compulsions. She rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the strain behind her eyes.

Her head hurt, and not just from the strain of her newly healed body taking a longer hike than she should. Damn his handsome hide anyway. "I must be mad." Padmé murmured darkly, shredding the leaves on one full branch and violently casting them over the water. She watched them swirl and race, some being pulled under by the current, others caught in the languid run of the waters close to the river's edge. Much like her swirling emotions.

_Damn his handsome hide_! She wanted to scream with frustration but didn't dare; she hadn't been able to get far enough away from the campsite without her newly healed injuries protesting in pain. _As it is_, she thought darkly. _I'd rather scream _at_ him than about him. Much more satisfying_.

At least until he got that wounded look on his face.

She grimaced, yanking a twig off the small plant and tossing it disgustedly into the water. "You're going soft, girl," she told herself bitterly. "All because of a pair of blue eyes that match the color of the skies on the planet you can never go back to." She sighed, a sense of longing welling up within her as she leaned back against the canyon wall, her eyes on the river but not really seeing it.

She saw instead the mountain ranges of Naboo, wreathed with white clouds and surrounded with clear sapphire skies. She saw the lake country's waters, shimmering and clear, the sandy bottoms visible even at their greatest depths - deceptively so. She saw the lush, verdant forests, the swamp lands. All memories, fleeting though they were, that had never dimmed nor dulled with time.

All memories from a teenage girl that had long ago ceased to exist.

Padmé crouched beside the river bank, slipping her hand into the cool water and letting it trail over her fingers and hand. That teenager would have jumped at the chance she was being offered. She would have likely fallen for Anakin within the first five minutes and then proceeded to doggedly chase him, hounding him, until she received the answer she was looking for. She shook her head. Not so much unlike the woman she'd become - except for the motive.

That teenager would have been looking for the happily-ever-after and the woman she'd become had long ago stopped believing such things were possible.

She pushed to her feet and let the memories slip away, hardening her heart against the emotions which always followed and locking them deep into the recesses of her mind. She had a job to do. A job she didn't particularly like anymore, but she would do it. She would do it because she would be paid for it and maybe, just maybe, one day she'd make enough to clear her name and go home.

The water whispered along the banks behind her as she turned on her heel and headed back to camp. She had to speak with Skywalker if for no other reason than to make him understand.

----------

Padmé frowned as she stepped into the camp, noting that it seemed abnormally silent. "Skywalker?"

There was no immediate answer and her hand dropped to the butt of her blaster as a distinctly uneasy feeling swept over her. She slipped the blaster out of its holster, adjusting her hand about its grip and fingering the trigger. "Skywalker!"

No sound answered her call, but the uneasy feeling increased, crawling through her belly and coiling into a cold knot of fear. She ignored it, slowly following the wall around the campsite, her blaster held at the ready. The silence was broken only by the gurgle of the river as it slowed to form the pool at the far side of the camp.

There was no sign of a struggle. The camp looked exactly as she'd left it, but Padmé could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Where was Skywalker?

The dishes from their morning breakfast had been cleaned and stacked neatly by the remnants of their fire. The blankets were hung on a make-shift line, strung to the left of the small tent, and away from the river. The tents flaps were pulled back, but she couldn't see inside from her angle. She shifted, placing her feet carefully, and making her way towards the hanging blankets and open tent. She looked all around her. The sides of the cliff were bare, winding steadily upwards towards the skies, dust dancing well above her head as the winds of the world caused them to dance.

Padmé turned her focus back to the campsite, her frown deepening as she couldn't detect anything amiss. Something just didn't _feel_ right and she didn't have a clue what it was. Just a feeling that she was walking into a trap; that she was being watched. She stopped, her eyes narrowing as she caught a whisper of something that sounded like fabric on stone. A soft sound that was almost completely masked by the ever present breeze and the merry bubbling to the nearby river.

She spun as a pinch at her neck brought her blaster down and outstretched towards the wall.

Nothing.

She slapped her hand to her neck and brushed, coming away with a small dart and her fingers coated with a drop of her blood. She dropped the dart, whirling around a second time and narrowing her gaze.

Still nothing.

"Whoever's out there, show yourself!"

A giggle, barely audible over the noise of the stream, had her whipping around again. This time a movement out of the comer of her eye caught her attention and a small creature, a Gwurran she'd never seen before that blended in almost perfectly with the rock wall, gave her a toothy smile. He waved one hand, exhibiting a blow dart tube.

Padmé's blaster spat fire and the Gwurran darted away, making scolding noises of distress as it chattered and jabbered at her in broken anosian. She brought her blaster around, tracking it and fired twice more, hitting it squarely in the leg on the third round and sending it tumbling from the wall to the ground, landing on the roof of their make-shift tent. The fabric held for a half second before folding gracefully inward, the shriek of the small Gwurran lost among the folds.

Padmé ignored the tingling in her fingers and toes as she advanced towards the pile, fairly certain this creature had been alone. But why would it attack her? She stumbled, one of her legs suddenly going numb and she almost pitched forward into the canvas of the tent.

The Gwurran was struggling, its words muffled and more garbled by the fabric. It finally found its way out just as Padmé's knees gave out. She reached for it, grabbing it about the throat and dragging it towards her. "Why'd you attack me?" She demanded, glaring at the creature. "What did you do to me?"

The Gwurran made a sound of distress, tugging frantically at her hands where they were choking it viciously. Padmé felt her hands going numb and squeezed harder. They spasmed, opening enough to let the Gwurran jump free to scold her some more about being uncooperative. She tried to reach for it, but her body was swiftly and suddenly completely beyond her control.

A presence behind her made itself known, casting a shadow over her prone and helpless form. The whisper of a robe was her only clue to the individual's identity.

"If you two are quite finished making a spectacle of yourselves, perhaps we can get moving?"

Padmé tried to bring her head around, to glare at the familiar haughty voice, but the lethargy had spread through her body, making speech and movement impossible. Whatever toxin that had been used had rendered her as helpless as a baby.

Barriss crouched by Padmé's head and checked her vitals before a satisfied smile crossed her tattooed lips. "We're going to have a little chat, Captain. Only we're going to do it on ground of my choosing." She rose to her feet, an edge to her smile. "You don't have a choice."

Padmé struggled to get her body to move, succeeding only in making her limbs twitch but little else. Her power of speech had fled, leaving her tongue like a dead weight in her mouth. She made a noise of displeasure, glaring darts at Barriss and promising retribution for the indignity with every look.

Barriss stepped back to her side and lifted one hand, raising her off the ground with her telekinetic powers. She smiled thinly. "You realize, Captain, that I can't possibly let you see where we're taking you."

Padmé's eyes narrowed. They were about the only part of her she still seemed to have control over. Oh, Barriss was going to pay for this, alright. Slowly and painfully, and in ways only a well traveled smuggler could think of.

Barriss placed her fingers on either side of Padmé's head, finding pressure points and Padmé struggled to get her head to twitch, to move; anything to shake off that grip. A Force Suggestion was added, one she was expecting and one she fought.

All to no avail.

Where the Force Suggestion was rebuffed, Padmé felt Barriss applying body point knowledge to send her into unconsciousness. She fought it, harder than she'd ever fought anything, and she was satisfied to see the strain on Barriss' face as she was forced to concentrate even harder to achieve her goals.

But Padmé, caught and bound by toxins she couldn't fight, finally, reluctantly succumbed to unconsciousness and the uncertainty that followed.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"We can't keep her here indefinitely. We'll wait until she wakes to see if she's cooperative."

Padmé woke to the sound of Barriss' voice, hushed but audible from several feet away. She suppressed a groan as the dull ache that was her body made itself known. She hurt. All over. Like someone had stuck her in a bag and beaten her with reeds for a week. The unpleasant memory did nothing to banish the seriousness of her situation or cast it in another light. She was bound, hand and foot, the tingling in her fingers a telling sign that her bonds were a touch too tight. She tested them, finding the leather cord had very little give.

A murmured response Padmé didn't catch slid through the silence and her ears would have twisted forward had she been feline. The voice was female and younger than Barriss if Padmé heard the tone correctly; and it didn't appear to be Gwurran. The inflections on the words were too precise. She strained to hear, but the voice didn't speak loudly enough to be anything more than a garbled murmur.

Padmé tuned out the conversation, focusing instead on her surroundings. The light of a fire somewhere behind her cast all in front of her into shadow, but she saw enough to convince her she was in some kind of camp. A small camp. Gwurran, perhaps? It was underground; that much she knew for certain, the breeze almost non-existent in the cavern.

Barriss' voice dropped and then suddenly stopped, bringing Padmé's focus back to the Jedi who'd taken her. The sound of footsteps was soft; the echo indicating that the cave in which she was housed was smaller than she'd first anticipated. Barriss' hand was on her shoulder, rolling her backwards, and Padmé glared up at the other woman.

"Polite conversation is usually held without knocking one's guest unconscious first."

A giggle echoed from somewhere behind Padmé even as Barriss' lips twisted into a grudging smile. "I see your nap hasn't dented your sense of humor."

"It would take a lot more than you to do that, Jedi Offee. How about you let me loose and we'll have that _chat_."

Barriss looked beyond Padmé. "I don't think our audience would like that very much."

"Well bully for you." Padmé glared daggers.

Another giggle and then a softer, younger voice spoke from the shadows behind Padmé. "She has a strange way of speaking."

"Who's that? And what, pray-tell, have you done with Skywalker?"

"He's fine." Barriss assured her with a faint smile. "He'll be sleeping off the drug the Gwurran fed him for another couple of hours." The Mirialan Jedi assisted Padmé to a sitting position; one that did nothing to illuminate the identity of their mysterious audience. "I have a delicate matter I wished to discuss with you. One that may influence your relationship with Anakin."

Padmé snorted. "Relationship? What, our sniping matches? I've told him he can have you."

Barriss looked at Padmé shrewdly. "I find myself doubting he wishes to renew our relationship and you are the reason why."

Padmé shrugged, rubbing her wrists together. "He's a big boy; he makes his own decisions. What's this have to do with anything, anyway?"

"What do you know of my history with Anakin?"

Padmé blinked, not having expected the question and her curiosity began to gnaw at her. What did this have to do with anything? "I know you were once lovers."

"True. Did you know it was his pursuit of his Mastery that ended that relationship?"

"No. What's this have to do with anything?"

"I'm getting to that, Captain. What do you know of my history?"

"Very little," Padmé admitted. "The Jedi supplied a slim dossier on you that mentioned this planet several times, as well as your disappearances over the years, but never for longer than a year."

"The first time of six months."

"What relevance is that?"

Barriss nodded to the shadows and a small child of no more than seven stepped into the light. She flashed a hesitant but dimpled smile at Padmé and Padmé stared. The child was obviously Barriss'. She was the spitting image of her mother with long brown hair and clear, olive colored skin, not yet having tattooed or earned the right to tattoo, any part of her visible skin. But it wasn't that she looked like Barriss or that Barriss had a child that held Padmé's attention. It was that the girl had startlingly clear blue eyes.

Anakin's eyes.

Padmé's gaze flew back to Barriss. Barriss met it frankly. "This is Karrin; my daughter."

"Anakin's daughter."

Barriss inclined her head. "Do you see my dilemma?"

"Untie me."

Barriss arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to attack you in front of your daughter. Untie me. My fingers are going numb."

Barriss bent to the task and the knots slipped free quickly. "I need your assistance, Captain Naberrie."

"You've got a funny way of asking for it."

"Would you have followed me without question?"

Padmé shot her a look that said she knew the answer to that question.

"I thought not. Without giving you an explanation, and risking Anakin overhearing, I would not have been able to get you to come."

Karrin knelt to help her mother, working on Padmé's ankles with sure, swift fingers. Padmé rubbed her wrists as they were freed, smiling her thanks at the child as her feet were released moments later. She rotated her ankles and flexed her toes to get the circulation going. "Not that I'm in the habit of finding a cause, but what kind of help can I possibly give you? You're holding the trump card." She waved at Karrin who had settled onto the ground across from them. "If you tell Anakin about Karrin it proves that Jedi are just as capable of breeding more Jedi - just like the council thought. They'll be ecstatic."

Barriss regarded Padmé as if weighing some heavy decision before finally speaking. "Is that the real reason the council has searched me out? Because I am female and can provide children for the order?"

"The main one."

Barriss rose abruptly to her feet and turned away. "Karrin, go see Nixlew."

Karrin looked from one adult to the other, as if gauging if it was safe or not to leave, but rose and left without a word, only a cautionary look at Padmé

"Obedient child. She must take after her mother."

Barriss turned back to face Padmé. "Spare me your caustic wit, Captain. The Jedi Order is dying, or so Anakin tells me, regardless of how many younglings you were able to save, the Order will be nothing without learning to accept the facts of life as they now stand. You've seen it for yourself; tell me honestly. What chance do the Jedi have in renewing the order?"

"None." Padmé was blunt, meeting the Jedi healer's gaze frankly and doing a quick reassessment of what she knew about Barriss. Here, after the introduction to her daughter, Padmé was seen Barriss' actions for the last several days in another light. "With Mace Windu as the new Sith Lord, a Sith Lord who understands the intricate inner workings of the Jedi and their code, the Jedi will need to evolve or risk annihilation."

Barriss was silent for a long minute. "And do you think this new ploy of theirs, the idea to form family groups, makes sense?"

Padmé shrugged. "I think it has both pros and cons. By bringing Jedi together in groups, they're vulnerable to detection. But they're also stronger as a group. By making them a true family with children, it ensures that the parents will fight to the death to ensure their children survive. A waste of lives, but there are no better bodyguards than a passionately attached Jedi Knight."

"You know if this first hand?"

Padmé smiled wickedly. "I met a young Jedi once - he's dead now - but he'd taken it into his head to become romantically attached to me despite his Master's orders. He was most… vigorous in his pursuit of me and defense of my body."

Barriss arched an eyebrow. "It is disrespectful to speak ill of the dead, Captain."

"There's no disrespect intended, Jedi Offee. I will ever remember him fondly. He gave up his life so I could continue with mine."

"I see."

"I doubt you do, but that is neither here nor there. What is it you need my help for?"

"I want honesty to a question I must pose."

Padmé shot her a look that said she was likely to get little else. What did the Jedi think; that she was going to lie? Lie, to a Jedi? Padmé almost snorted. Barriss had been living on Ansion too long if she didn't remember it was impossible to lie effectively to a Jedi. Padmé corrected that thought with an arch of an eyebrow as she waited for Barriss' question. Jedi could be lied to effectively, in fact, she'd gotten quite good at it, but the only problem was that the lies could never be kept for very long. Besides, she wasn't about to spare Barriss' sensibilities after what the Jedi had done to enable their conversation even if she was more affable.

"My question is this," Barriss finally spoke, her voice low so not to have it carry beyond them. "Are Karrin and I safer here or with the other Jedi?"

"With or without Skywalker's presence?"

"That's the question, isn't it?"

Padmé met the younger woman's gaze squarely. "Your chances increase if you're with Skywalker if you decide to leave. Though, with all that's been said, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the other Masters took a liking to you."

Barriss arched her eyebrows. "A vessel to produce force sensitive children? Thank you, but I believe Karrin and I will remain here."

"And how are you going to explain your change of heart to Skywalker?"

"I am not." Barriss didn't break their eye contact. "You are."

Padmé blinked. "I am not."

"You must."

"I don't have to do a damn thing, lady," Padmé retorted coldly. "I was drugged, bound, gagged, insulted and brought here against my will because _you_ can't let Anakin go free. And if you expect me to do anything to help you, you're dreaming."

"I can't tell him about Karrin. If I must tell him of my decision to stay, he will learn of his daughter."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

Barriss drew herself up haughtily. "I should have known better than to expect honor, despite your actions towards the Jedi previously."

Padmé grabbed her arm before she swept from the cavern, halting her progress. "Explain that."

"Anakin's told me of your involvement with the Jedi and why you are here." Barriss' gaze was cold. "I find that his version of the woman who helped younglings escape the temple and the one I am asking to assist me are two very different women indeed."

Padmé's gaze narrowed. "If I didn't know any better, you were trying to insult me."

"Not trying, Captain." Barriss tugged her arm free. "The Gwurran will escort you out - once you're drugged."

Padmé lunged for the Jedi, hitting her across the middle and slamming her into the wall with a dull thud. The air whooshed from the Jedi Healer's lungs at the sudden impact with Padmé's attack having come from a completely unexpected angle. Padmé's hand curled about Barriss's throat and applied pressure, keeping her from regaining her breath as the Jedi struggled to find enough air to remain conscious.

Padmé's gaze was narrowed and uncompromising. "Understand me and understand me well, Jedi Offee. Your problems are not mine and you will not make them mine. You were the one irresponsible enough to get knocked up by your Jedi lover. Something I'm certain the council frowns upon almost as much as keeping a child from the crèche - especially one that has the potential to be as talented as their parents."

Barriss' hands settled around Padmé's wrists, her nails digging in and drawing a trickle of blood. Padmé didn't flinch, didn't in fact seem to feel it as her eyes blazed with barely restrained fury. "Your insinuations that I am less than honorable are laughable. You know nothing about me or what shaped me into the person I am today. You dare accuse me of being deceitful when Skywalker remains ignorant of the fact he's a father. You dare accuse me of being dishonorable when I'm not the one who turned their back on everything they believed in to break the fundamental code by which I'm bound to live. Don't you _dare_ imply that you're better than I am, Jedi, because you're wrong. Dead wrong."

Barriss' nails drug deeper, numbing the fingers Padmé held in a vice-like grip around her neck, but Padmé refused to relinquish her hold. She shook the Jedi by the neck, like a kryatt dragon would have shaken a womp rat, keeping a tight grip - or what she thought was a tight grip. "Do you understand me, Jedi Offee?"

Barriss nodded, clawing at the back of Padmé's hand and leaving bloody furrows, her lips starting to turn blue.

"Good." Padmé released Barriss, dropping her to the floor and rising to her feet as she shot the Jedi a final scathing look. "Oh, and a word of advice. Never underestimate someone simply because they can't use the Force."

---------

Padmé crouched in the shadows of the cavern, looking left and right as she attempted to get her bearings. _Where am I_? she wondered silently. The jabbering of the Gwurran could be heard all around her as the acoustics of the cavern distorted the directions from which they came and Padmé, for the first time in her life, felt beyond her depth. Not that it was going to stop her.

She stayed where she was for several long minutes, watching the angles of the shadows and the way they played about the walls. She held her breath as footsteps sounded around her, expecting to feel the prick of the drugged dart that would send her back under. But nothing came. No sound of a lightsaber humming as it moved through the air. No sound of alarm. No whistle as the poisoned dart sped through the air.

A groan floated towards her; a sound she recognized by the shudder than shook her frame. "Skywalker?"

Her hiss came back to her, reverberating off the wall in a distorted fashion. Padmé reached her hand out and moved several feet to the left until her hand hit rock. She stopped, holding her breath and listening. The echoes of shuffling feet and the gibberish version of the Anosian language that the Gwurran spoke echoed faintly through the cavern. The dripping of water, slow and steady, gave her a count.

One... Two... Three...

She let her breath out silently.

Nothing. No groans, no moans and no indication that Skywalker was anywhere near the wall by which she stood. She moved again, this time angling towards the right, and keeping to the deep shadows as she planted her feet carefully. Her right hand encountered rock and she paused again, holding her breath as she listened for the tell-tale signs of Skywalker's presence. The drip was closer now and she had to focus beyond it, the ambient noise of the tunnels making it difficult to focus.

The counted backwards slowly.

Three... Two... On- There!

She concentrated on the sound, barely audible under the rest of the tunnel's noises and moved two steps forward. She exhaled and then inhaled, holding her breath again. The sound of someone moving, shifting like they were in pain went with the muted sound of a hurting head.

Whatever they'd drugged Skywalker with must have given him one hell of a headache.

Padmé crept forward cautiously only to pause every few steps to correct her bearings and listen. The sounds drew her forward, prepared for a trick, and she found herself silently wishing for her blaster. Damn the Jedi anyway. She should just leave Anakin to Barriss and their daughter and save her own skin.

But she found she couldn't. Each time she _thought_ about turning away, Skywalker's painful movements drifted almost painfully loud through her mind. His smile, the quirk of his lips that sent her pulse racing, and lastly, the unknown. She'd tasted something with him that she hadn't before tasted and she wasn't about to let him get away before she fulfilled her promise.

She made a face. _You're kidding yourself, girl_, she admonished silently. _Skywalker's fire isn't what's drawing you, it's the fact he's gotten beyond the barriers you've erected to keep people away. Admit it; you're as good as smitten_.

But she couldn't. Not yet. Maybe once they were out of here and away from Barriss and her kid. Maybe. She pushed the thoughts away, concentrating and then frowned. "Skywalker?"

"Captain?"

She grinned in the darkness. He sounded pained but annoyed. "How's the head."

"Heartless witch." Anakin's voice was low, just like hers. "Where are we?"

Padmé moved forward into another small chamber and caught herself as the toe of her boot kicked him solidly in the side. He grunted. "Easy, would you? My hands are bound."

She knelt, using her hands to find him. In the darkness she had no choice but to use her fingers to skim his chest, looking for the width of his shoulders.

"They'll be more time for exploration later, Captain." His voice caught as she brushed her fingers over the well defined muscles of his pectorals. "I'd like to get out of here sooner rather than later."

Padmé chuckled softly. "Relax, Skywalker. I don't exactly have the ability to see in the dark and, as much as I'm enjoying this, I'd rather be in a lighted area when I next meet your Barriss." Her fingers skimmed quickly over his shoulders as she ignored the hitch in his breathing and then down, across his biceps, searching for where his hands were joined. Her fingers slowed as they reached his elbows, shifting so she could slide her whole hands around his arms. She stopped for a fraction of a second when her fingers encountered bare skin and scolded herself.

_It's just his arms for Force sakes_.

"Padmé?"

"Easy, Skywalker," she was conscious of the fact she knelt over him and his breath had feathered the bangs at her forehead. _Too close_. She ignored the warning, sliding her hands further down, the action more of a caress than she intended, and less business-like. The warmth of his skin seemed to sear her hands even as her hands slid and finally connected with the metal bands near his wrists. "Binders."

"I know."

"Why didn't you say so?"

He chuckled and her head came up. His lips touched her cheek when he answered. "I didn't... I..." He trailed off, his lips closing and, gently, with a slight shift, became caressing on the curve of her cheek bone.

Padmé froze, feeling like a jolt of high voltage energy had been run through her system. His lips were soft and undemanding as they slid to the right, tracing the bone back until it connected with her hairline - and her ear. She jerked away, her hands sliding back up his arms as she did, "More rescue, less fraternization, Skywalker."

His low chuckle did nothing to settle the jumping in her stomach. "I can't thank you for rescuing me - again?"

"Save your gratitude for when we're actually free. Are you chained to anything?"

"Not that I can tell."

Padmé felt around behind him and then shifted her position, keeping one hand on his arm and letting go of the other one. She closed her eyes, letting her sense of touch guide her. Anakin wasn't grounded to anything. Reaching down, she searched the hem of her boots, looking for and finding the loose seam. She smiled smugly, though no one could see her, and pulled the lock pick from its secret location.

"What are you doing?"

"Breaking you out." She returned quietly. "Now shut up and let me concentrate."

"Yes ma'am."

She jabbed him none-too-gently with the lock pick, satisfied with his twitch before she found the binders and set to work on the lock. The basic elements remained the same and she was silently thankful lock picking was mostly feel to begin with. If it hadn't been, getting him free would have been much more difficult.

_CLICK_

She felt the first of the binder's halves give way and extracted Anakin's arm. The second binder took only a few moments more before a second soft _CLICK_ freed his second arm.

"Thanks."

"Are your feet bound?"

"I don't think so."

"Then check, Skywalker. As amusing as it would be to watch you fall on your face, there's not exactly a lot of light. Not to mention _hearing_ you fall on your face wouldn't be as much fun."

"You're all heart, Captain." She heard Anakin moving around for a few moments. "Nothing. I guess they figured binders were enough. I think I should be insulted."

Padmé chuckled. "I don't think they were a long-term solution. You weren't supposed to be here for more than a few hours."

"That's not reassuring."

Padmé rose to her feet cautiously, holding one hand above her head. She didn't feel a low ceiling, but Anakin was quite a bit taller than she. "Be careful when you stand. We wouldn't want you to rattle that Jedi brain of yours more than it has been."

Anakin did as she said, reaching out to catch her arm, "Any more skills I should know about, Captain?"

She patted his fingers for a moment before turning back the way she came, feeling his grip like a branding iron. "I'm sure there are _many_ more you could benefit from, Skywalker. It's just a matter of the right time and-"

She was thrust against the wall suddenly, Anakin's frame pinning her in place as his lips silenced her saucy comeback. He pinned her, grabbing her wrists and keeping them firmly against the rock wall even as his weight kept her in place. She didn't fight him, though. _I should_ came the slightly hazy though as his mouth devoured hers hungrily. But, for the moment, she couldn't remember why.

Anakin pulled back too quickly for her liking. "Either stop taunting me, _Captain_, or put those much vaunted skills to use."

"Lacking control, Skywalker?"

His laughter was low and dangerous - and right next to her ear. "Everything about you screams lack of control, Padmé; especially the effect you have on me."

Padmé felt as if he'd sucker punched her; he wasn't supposed to admit it, damn him! She twisted. "You have lousy timing, Skywalker." Her words were hissed and deliberately chosen to hide her confusion. "We've a mad woman on our tail, you've got a head full of cob webs and you're going to regret telling me that later. Why don't we get out of here before you start playing the Neanderthal?"

His release of her was almost instantaneous. He didn't say anything, didn't so much as breathe a curse as he kept one hand around her wrist and, with a tug, began walking. She didn't see where they were going - there was little ambient light - but she didn't need to see to know she'd struck a sensitive spot. He was silent as he pulled her through corridor after corridor, always pausing before making his way across open areas.

"Do you know where you're going?"

Anakin shot her a look that said now was not the time to question him, nor was it prudent. Padmé stared at him, noting, with that look that she could see him again. Light filtered in from somewhere ahead and their pace increased. The floor took a sudden, sharp turn upwards and they stumbled, Anakin dragging her down with him as he came up short and tried to catch his balance.

Padmé careened into his back at such a clip it sent them both sprawling.

She closed her eyes, resting her forehead between Anakin's shoulder blades as his body began to shake. She felt his laughter before she heard it and her head snapped up. "Just what is so funny?"

Anakin shifted and rolled, knocking her off and to the side to lever himself up on his elbows. "What are we running from, Captain?"

"Your ex-girlfriend and her delusions of world domination?"

Anakin's chuckle was accompanied by a boyish grin and his bangs falling into his eyes as he cocked his head at her. "Barriss isn't a Sith; she'd hardly hurt us."

"Speak for yourself." Padmé told him with a pointed look. "She's made no secret of the fact she doesn't want me here."

"And you've made little secret of the fact that you would rather have been chosen to do a garbage scow run than retrieve her for the order."

Padmé smiled faintly. "She won't go with you."

His smile slowly died. "What do you mean?"

Padmé pushed herself to her knees and began smacking the dust from her shirt with even, controlled motions. "What I mean, Master Jedi, is that Barriss refuses to be a brood mare for the order."

Anakin flinched.

Padmé continued, keeping her tone conversational. "She didn't seem too thrilled by the idea when I told her exactly what our mission was here. Then she had the gall to ask if she'd be safer here without you, or out in the galaxy with you." She snorted, pushing to her feet and dusting ff her pants. "Imagine, safer out there or here. With all the trouble we went through to find her, I'd be shocked if the Emperor was able to locate what planet she was on, let alone the specific cavern she was hiding in."

"She didn't want to come with us?"

Padmé finally looked up. Anakin hadn't moved from his position on the ground, and his blue eyes were serious. "She has other obligations here, Skywalker. Apparently she doesn't consider bearing children for whatever Jedi takes a fancy to her one of them."

He flinched a second time. "It wouldn't be like that."

"No?" Padmé slammed her hands on her hips and gave him a hard look. "Then what would it be like? Marriage and happily ever after? You're trying to save an order by producing children, Anakin. Doesn't it make sense to have as many different genetic combinations as possible to preserve the blood lines?"

"That's degrading."

Her lips twitched and she arched an eyebrow. "You agree with me then."

"About what?"

"About women being little more than the means to an end with the way the Jedi are going about this."

Anakin pushed himself into a sitting position, resting one arm on one knee as he looked at her critically. "I never said that."

"Then what do you mean?"

He shrugged. "If the Jedi really mean to take this as a family group, it needs to _be_ like a family group. You can't trade wives just because you need to have more children of someone's bloodline."

"In other words each bloodline will be saved because each will have its partner?"

"Something like that." Anakin made to get to his feet and Padmé extended her hand to him. He looked at it before meeting her gaze. "For this to work there needs to be some semblance of emotion between the couple chosen. Or at the very least-" he slapped his hand into hers, grabbing her by the wrist as she secured her fingers around his, awareness crackling about them with the skin on skin contact. "At the very least, there should be passion."

Padmé was almost pulled off her feet and caught herself in time to counter balance him as he hauled himself to his feet. He didn't let go of her hand immediately, his gaze holding hers captive

"Passion." Padmé echoed him softly. She tugged her hand away. "Passions fade, Skywalker. How about mutual respect and trust for starters. I hear that's a good way to start a relationship."

"Jedi already have that; there will need to be a stronger connection than that."

"Like what?"

Anakin chuckled softly. "Sparks would be a good start."

"Am I being propositioned, Master Jedi," Padmé asked with a tilt of her head. "For, I could swear I never said I wanted to be a part of your mating program."

His eyes widened in surprise and Padmé pushed past him, starting to climb the steep incline and heading for the now-visible opening in the rock wall. He didn't answer as she moved away from him, and part of Padmé was grateful. For a moment, a brief moment when he'd been looking at her with unshielded eyes she'd seen possibilities. She'd seen a future; she's seen the offer of a family and security. The offer of home.

She ignored the tugging on her heart strings as she scrambled into the cave entrance and stopped. The breeze whipped her hair about her face as she waited for Skywalker to join her. What he didn't know yet was that she had all that, or had once had it, and lost it all to poor choice and circumstance. Once they were back at their campsite, packed, and heading for where she'd left the suubatar she'd try and find the words to explain why she couldn't accept what he was offering and why he was better off without her.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Padmé slid through the fissure behind Anakin and winced as she jarred her knees against the close stone wall. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Trust the Force, Captain," Anakin returned without missing a beat. "We can't have been taken far from our campsite; finding it should be an - ah, here we are."

Padmé emerged from the stone cavern and info the familiar hollow where their belongings remained untouched. Her gaze was drawn immediately to the pool the river formed on the far side and the yearning for a bath was almost over powering. She pushed it aside. She could bathe when they were packed and away from here.

Anakin went straight to where his belongings had been left and collected his lightsaber, hooking it back on his belt with a smooth motion. Padmé cast him a long look as he knelt and began to place several of the items into the middle of one of his heavier blankets. She waited until she was confident he was occupied before crossing to the tent where she'd spent most of her time in this clearing.

Her blaster was the first thing she retrieved, scooping it from the blankets where it'd been left and she proceeded to clean it. Her movements were practiced and smooth as she tore down the blaster and then rebuilt it. Each movement was as much about ordering her thoughts as it was about ensuring her weapon hadn't been tampered with. Once it was back together, she slid it into her holster and secured it in place.

"Need a hand?"

She managed not to jump at Anakin's inquiry. "What, already packed, Skywalker?"

"I travel light, Captain." He returned, his tone amused.

She didn't turn to look at him, but instead knelt and reached for the pack. She flipped it open, satisfied to find it empty, and began folding the blankets on the floor. She didn't intend to bring everything back with them - just what they were going to need to survive. She felt Anakin's eyes following the movements of her hands as they folded the blanket and placed it in the sack. She felt his gaze on her legs as she shifted, burning into her back and side as she reached forward, stretching to retrieve the-

"How's the head?"

She just about dropped the small med kit she'd scooped from beyond where her bedroll had been. She tossed him a dry smile. "It's still on my shoulders - as I'm sure you can see."

"I was talking about the abrupt about-face back in the tunnel."

She went back to packing the sack. "What about-face?"

"You're about as warm as a glacial pond."

She chuckled softly, packing away what clothing she could see was hers and using the opportunity to keep her hands busy. The fact it kept her back to him was an added bonus. "That's rich coming from a man who grew up on a desert planet, Skywalker."

"Care to explain why?"

She flinched. It was like he hadn't heard her retort. She bristled, disliking the feelings his question brought out. She rose to her feet slowly and turned to look at him. "Not particularly. I don't know about you, but I would like to get back to my ship and away."

"You haven't earned your fee yet."

Her hands slid to her hips, one resting slightly lower on the grip of her blaster. "All the more reason to get back to my ship. I located Barriss, I informed her of the Council's wishes. I even went so far as to answer her questions. If the rest of those female Jedi I'm supposed to collect as as pleasant as she is, I'll be shot, beat, drugged, mutilated, dunked and restrained every time I do this. Can you tell I'm looking forward to it?"

His lips twitched. "You're supposed to bring Barriss back with you."

"I can't make her come, Skywalker." Padmé managed a slight smile. "She's safer here anyway. The only reason we found her was because of you. She knows now that she has to remain hidden and she will. She's equipped to protect herself here far better than any Jedi out there." She waved her left hand towards the sky. "She said no. End of story. We're leaving."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." She told him firmly.

"And what of your... conquest?"

She arched her eyebrows and smiled cockily. "You want me. You admitted it. I win."

Anakin blinked and she turned away, as if dismissing him, and knelt at the sack to replace the last of her belongings and snapped the cover closed with a flick of her wrist. She rose back to her feet, pack in hand, and turned to find Anakin hadn't moved from his position. Only now he was watching her with an unreadable expression. "You got a problem, Skywalker?"

"One or two," was his soft reply.

"Planning on making it mine?" Her words were teasing.

"I was thinking about it." His reply wasn't.

Padmé dropped the pretense. "Look, we've got a long way to travel in the next couple of days. Once we hit the suubatar we'll be riding double and you can re-think your priorities. Getting out of here - or not."

He regarded her silently, thoughtfully. "And in return for agreeing to your terms?"

She arched her eyebrows and struck a deliberately provocative pose. "Why, Skywalker, you can have _whatever_ catches your fancy."

His gaze didn't waver from hers for a moment, despite her cocked hip and hand gestures. "Answers."

She blinked, straightening. "Answers? To what?"

"You. This mystery. If I agree and lead you back to the suubatar, I want answers."

Her defenses went up. "No you don't."

"I do. I want to know why you keep pushing me away. I want to know what it is in your past that turned you into such a remarkable woman. I want to know," he stepped closer, something flashing through his gaze when she didn't back away, didn't cower. "What makes you tick."

Her mouth went dry and she swallowed with difficulty. She arched an eyebrow at him. "_Tick_?" She drew the word out like a caress. "You've seen what makes me tick, Skywalker. You just refuse to act on it."

"And back in the cave?"

She smirked, reaching up to place one hand between them and pushed him back with a firm pressure. "Self-defense. A girl has to keep her guard up."

He barely budged, keeping her gaze locked with his. "Do I look amused to you, Captain?"

"You're _amusing_; it's much the same thing."

Anakin was silent, watching her with those clear, clear blue eyes she found so disturbing. She pushed against his chest again and frowned. "You're crowding me, Jedi."

"Tough luck, Captain." His words were soft. "I'd get used to being crowded if I was you because I'm not going anywhere until I get my answers."

---------

He hadn't been kidding about crowding her.

Padmé's temper was frayed by the time they determined they could finally head out to look for her suubatar. Whenever she paused, wherever she looked, whatever she was doing, Anakin was right there. Her nerves were shot by his by-play, the secret smiles as if he knew what he was doing to her control. The way he simply _looked_ at her, a challenge in his gaze, daring her to comment on his tactics. The tables had been turned and Padmé found she didn't like it.

_She_ was the aggressor; not some wet behind the ears Jedi who happened to have a kid.

Thankfully, the knowledge of Karrin had a mitigating effect and she was able to last longer under his scrutiny than she'd expected. They'd had to spend several hours packing everything in the camp to ensure the Gwurran could carry it away. They were hotter and sweatier by the time they finished and took a moment for a breather and some water.

A giggle brought her to her feet, blaster in hand, as she scanned the surrounding rock faces.

Anakin remained where he was seated, going so far as to retrieve something that looked like jerky from a pouch on his belt and begin to chew contentedly. Padmé knew her look was dirty when she glared at him. "It's no wonder you end up in tricky situations, Jedi. You don't have the sense to react when threatened."

"There's no danger."

She snorted. "That's what you said about Barriss and look how _that_ fiasco turned out."

"I never said I was omnipotent."

"No, you just imply it." Another giggle sounded from nearby and Padmé turned towards it, her blasted aimed at the shadows of one of the crevices. She raised her voice, her eyes narrowed. "Show yourself!"

Her blaster flew from her grip, tugged by an invisible hand towards the very crevasse at which she had it aimed, only to pause in mid-aid and then arc gracefully back towards the lazily lifted hand of her Jedi companion. Anakin was on his feet now, a mild look of irritation on his face. "Enough with the games, Barriss."

Padmé didn't think it was Barriss.

The giggle came again, amused. Anakin frowned. "Barriss..."

Padmé placed her hand on his arm as he shifted as if to move beyond her. The hand was a restraint as much as a caution. "That's not Barriss, Skywalker."

She could see by the look on his face that he'd started to draw the same conclusion. "Who else could it be?"

_Who else indeed_. She sighed, turning to the rock face. "We won't hurt you, Karrin. You can come out."

"Karrin?" Anakin echoed the name in surprise. "Who's-"

The small form of the seven year old girl slid out of the crevice and into the clearing. Her hood was pushed back, revealing the olive toned skin and long brown hair that matched her mother's. Her blue eyes, the ones that had so shocked Padmé, were full of mischief and curiosity and focused solely on the Jedi Master.

Anakin's face had gone white. Padmé could feel the muscles of his forearm bunching and shifting under her fingers as he stared in complete shock at the child. Karrin stared back at him, her impish smile slowly fading to be replaced by a wary look. Padmé turned her attention to the Jedi Master for only a fraction of a heartbeat. "You'd better sit down before you fall down, Skywalker."

He did, settling heavily on the nearby rock, his gaze never leaving the child.

Padmé turned back to Karrin and extended her hand in a welcoming gesture, managing to find a weak, but genuine, smile. "Hello again, Karrin."

"Hi," the child's voice was as musical as Padmé remembered. "You're the lady mom had in the cave."

Padmé chuckled softly. "That's right. My name's Padmé, and this is-"

"Anakin." Karrin said the name shyly, as if testing it out on her tongue.

"That's right." Padmé faltered. Should she bring up their relationship now and confirm the suspicion she could almost see growing on Skywalker's face? Or should she let them figure it out on their own? Would they? Could they accept it? She tried another tactic. "Does your mother know your here?"

"No," Karrin met Padmé's gaze squarely. "She told me to go stay with Nixlew. I did, but then I saw you leave and I wanted to see where you were going." Her eyes drifted back to Anakin, a yearning Padmé had no trouble reading shining in their depths. The girl had followed more out of curiosity about Anakin than anything else.

Karrin stepped forward cautiously as Padmé beckoned her closer. "I don't bite, child. At least - not children." That drew a giggle from the girl and made her eyes dance. Padmé grinned in return. "Don't you want to meet him?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

Padmé waited until Karrin slid her hand trustingly into hers before turning to Anakin. Anakin's gaze had never left the child, his expression closed, his thoughts unreadable. Karrin squeezed Padmé's hand as if seeking reassurance and Padmé gave it without thinking. "Karrin, this is Anakin Skywalker," she paused, waiting until she was sure she had Anakin's complete attention. "Your father."

Anakin jerked as if she'd struck him.

Karrin smiled tentatively at the announcement, clinging to Padmé's hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, sir. Mother speaks very highly of you."

Anakin didn't reply, simply continued to stare.

Padmé kicked his foot with one booted foot as the silence stretched and Karrin shifted nervously. "Anakin, say something."

He lifted his gaze from Karrin's, slowly seeking Padmé's, his volume so faint she barely caught it. "Father?"

Padmé nodded, her lips quirking into a half-smile. "You and Barriss have a child, Anakin. You were more reckless than I gave you credit for."

He flinched at her barb, his gaze dropping back to the child beside her. He extended his hand and, to Padmé's surprise, it was as steady as it had ever been. "Karrin, you said?"

The little girl nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir."

Anakin's lips kicked into a small smile. "I think you can call me something other than sir, Karrin."

"I can?" She fairly breathed the words, the hope in them making Padmé's heart squeeze.

Anakin nodded. He beckoned with his fingers and Karrin dropped Padmé's hand, reaching for Anakin in the same movement. Karrin by-passed his hand and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Father!"

Padmé watched with a small smile on her face as Anakin realized for the first time that his little girl, his _child_ was hugging him. His arms came up to encircle her and Padmé turned away. She left them there, keeping her back turned, as she headed for the pack she'd be carrying once they left the area. Now that things were starting to settle down, she could attend to the furrows on the backs of her hands.

Anakin was well and occupied with his daughter and had been too interested in forcing answers about her past from her to have noticed the dark lines. She wondered idly if Barriss was still finding pieces of her skin under her nails as she retrieved one of the med-packs and flipped it open. She moved to the side of the river and carefully cleaned one and then the other, sterilizing and bandaging the wounds with bacta patches.

She took her time, knowing that Karrin wouldn't want to share Anakin just yet, and marveled at how Barriss had managed to manipulate her into revealing the relationship between Karrin and Anakin anyway. Had it been deliberate? Had Karrin really been sent after them to ensure Anakin knew about his daughter before he left the planet? Or was it as innocent as the child had claimed and curiosity had simply been too much?

Padmé sighed, leaning back against the nearby rock face and turning her face skyward. The sky wasn't visible, and wouldn't be for several days despite the daylight in the cavern-like clearing, but it was soothing to think beyond herself.

_Would Anakin choose to stay behind now_?

The thought entered her mind unbidden and her reaction took her completely by surprise. Pain blossomed in her chest in the vicinity of her heart. The tightness was so acute it was as if someone had reached in and squeezed with an iron fisted grip. She lifted her hand unconsciously to rub it, hoping to ease the ache. She didn't _want_ Anakin to want to stay behind. She could admit it to herself, though it was difficult. She wanted him to come with her, to continue trying to break past the barriers she'd placed in his path. She _wanted_ him to care enough to try.

She closed her eyes against the revelation, but now that she'd admitted it, it wouldn't be silent.

She was in deep, deep trouble.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"You knew she was here, didn't you?"

Padmé opened her eyes to find that twilight had come. She must have dozed off only to be wakened by Anakin's soft question. She blinked, reaching up to rub her eyes with one hand and looked at him blankly. "What?"

"You knew she was here."

Padmé almost asked who "she" was before her brain finally caught up with her and memory flooded back.

She.

Karrin.

Right.

Padmé nodded. "I knew. Barriss' whole plan for taking us prisoner was to reveal her existence to me and to convince me to inform you of your status as a parent."

"Why you?"

Padmé couldn't see his features as they were shadowed, and had nothing to gauge his mood by with his relaxed posture giving away nothing. She shrugged. "She didn't want to trap you here. It's probably the same reason she didn't tell you about Karrin's conception."

"She didn't tell you why?"

"I hate to break it to you, Skywalker, but Barriss and I aren't exactly buddy-buddy."

"I noticed." Anakin's tone was dry. "I just don't see her not giving you a reason if she asked for your help."

"We spent more time trading insults than life stories," Padmé arched her eyebrows at him in challenge. "You can't really be surprised by that."

"Not really," Anakin crouched and then settled beside her, stretching out his legs. He didn't touch her, but Padmé was aware of his physical closeness all the same. "I just don't understand why she didn't tell me about Karrin immediately."

Padmé slanted him a look. "No woman wants to keep a man's attention based solely on the fact of a child, Skywalker. We do like to be appreciated for ourselves, you know."

He was silent.

"Where's Karrin?"

He nodded back towards the camp and Padmé could see the low, dancing flames of a fire and the small bundle curled up next to it in several of their blankets. "She's safe."

"Barriss will come looking for her."

"I know."

"Can you let her go?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?"

Padmé examined his profile as he watched his daughter's sleeping form. "You could stay. Karrin would benefit from having her father around."

Anakin seemed to contemplate the solution and reluctantly shook his head. "Karrin and Barriss are safer here without me. Because of that, I couldn't stay and put them both at risk."

"If you love them, let them go?" Padmé kept her tone light.

He slanted a look at her. "Something tells me you know all about that, Captain."

She didn't answer. His observation was too close to home. She knew about it alright. Intimately. She knew about the pain that came from it, and the pain that came when you realized you could never go home again. She knew about the agony of losing all that you'd been fighting for only to have to pick yourself up and forge ahead because you hadn't expired with it.

"Let me in, Padmé," Anakin's voice was soft, almost pleading. "Help me understand why you keep pushing me away."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

She smiled weakly, taking a deep breath. It was now or never; she owed him something. "Do you remember back about ten years ago when the Trade Federation invaded Naboo?"

He nodded - she caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "I was nine, but I remember."

Nine. She didn't remember ever having been that young. "I was fourteen. My best friend Typho and I had been talking about joining the Nabooian defense department since I'd been rejected by the legislative youth program. When the invasion happened we lost a good portion of our defense force in the first wave. Typho and I joined the underground smuggling ring bringing food and supplies to the planet. I was good at it." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "Typho and I made a good team, so good that a couple of the older pilots took us on for training. I abandoned my family to Naboo to become a smuggler."

She stopped. The years seemed like decades, though there was less than ten years since her first run.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Typho did more than I." Her admission was wry. "At least, at first. I came to enjoy the thrill of the chase and the skill needed to stealthily slip in and out undetected. We got good at it as partners and individually. Eventually we split, each taking a less experienced partner so we could train more of us. I was good enough that the Jedi assigned me a protector when they got wind of a plot to try and assassinate me. Thanks to the way Typho and I worked, we were now almost the leaders of the Smuggling operation. We were the only natives in the band, you see; the only ones who knew the most effective means of slipping in and out."

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen." She leaned back, the memories flooding back, the pain a dull ache in the back of her throat.

"That's very young."

"Maybe to you," Padmé cracked a half-smile. "I grew up fast; I had to. By the time I was sixteen the insurgents on Naboo were able to mount counter-attacks. They fought back for the first time since the invasion - and my family and the Jedi paid the price."

The breeze drifted through, ruffling her hair about her face. Padmé closed her eyes, continuing in a soft voice. "I was betrayed by someone on the inside, a deep plant the Federation groomed for years. They passed on every route, every secret, ever drop point I'd ever used. The last time I was on Naboo I barely escaped with my life. The Jedi that was protecting me warned me of the trap, but I went back to try and rescue my family anyway. We failed and they were all executed. Every last one, including my nieces."

"How do you know?"

She laughed bitterly, opening her eyes to stare blankly into space. "How else? They broadcasted it on the Holonet as a warning to all they called traitors to Naboo. As if that wasn't enough, they also sent me…" She stopped, wishing she could banish the memory to darkness forever.

The ghostly images rose in her mind, transporting her back to the cargo hold her of old freighter. The smells of lubricants and smoke, the tang of blood permeating the air like the nectar of death. She could almost _see_ her hands, steady and unsuspecting, as they flipped the packing bars on the crate, releasing the lid to fold back. She remembered the bile rising in the back of her throat immediately as a stench, heavy, thick and foul rushed from the box like a fog to engulf the bay. The images of the crate's contents were engraved in her mind down to the last miniscule detail.

Disbelief had ensnared her first, her mind refusing to believe the truth her senses were telling her. Only when she reached into the crate to confirm the texture and the cold seeped through her fingers tips, did the reality of the situation become apparent. Horror had quickly followed and she'd yanked her hand from the crate, stumbling backwards in an effort to escape.

She didn't remember falling to her knees, but she had, her vision blurred by tears as her stomach had emptied its contents onto the deck. The shakes had started as the reality of the situation had set in. Numbness had quickly followed, wiping the next few hours from her mind. When she next remembered, the crate was gone, and the cargo bay cleaned.

But she would never forget opening that crate and finding its gruesome cargo.

"Sent you?"

She was brought back to the present by his voice. Her fists were clenched in remembered pain, the urge to batter something, to make someone _pay_ for her past an almost tangible thing. "I was sent their... their heads as proof."

She let it sink in, saw him recoil and continued. "I've a death mark, Skywalker. If I ever set foot on Naboo again, my life is forfeit."

"Who was it that betrayed you?"

Her throat completely closed, hindering her speech. _Who indeed_. She finally turned to look at him, hoping with this final bit of information he'd understand why she kept people at arm's length. "Sola." She didn't see any recognition in his gaze for the name and continued in a harsh tone. "She is - was - my sister."

The silence that followed her soft, bitter announcement was heavy. Padmé pushed herself away from the wall and rose to her feet. She didn't - couldn't - look at him. "Everybody close to me dies, Skywalker. If I were you, I'd run as fast as you can and don't look back."

He didn't answer as she stepped away and out into the night.

----------

Karrin was delighted to spend the night with Anakin and Padmé. She slept through to wake up at dawn, and proceeded to pounce on her father to Padmé's sleepy-eyed amusement. Karrin hadn't been able to contain her excitement and the fist excited shriek from the girl had brought Padmé to full wakefulness.

Anakin, on the other hand, slept like the dead. For a hunted man, he didn't appear concerned. That, or he trusted her - foolishly in her opinion - to watch out for his well being.

Padmé watched as Karrin delighted in waking her father for the first time, learning through trial and error that he was just as ticklish as she was, and soon her giggles were echoing around the area. Padmé pushed to her feet, stretching, and looked around.

Things were the same as they'd left them earlier.

Of course, she'd only slept off and on for an hour or two, the disjointed images of her past dredged from her memory after her discussion with Skywalker. She turned away from him and his daughter, consciously pushing the memories back into the tight little container from where they'd escaped, ruthlessly quashing them as she struggled to regain her equilibrium.

"It would seem she's not as obedient as you thought, Captain."

Padmé didn't even twitch at that soft comment; she simply turned to find Barriss sitting on a nearby boulder, her gaze on Anakin and their daughter. Padmé's gaze followed unconsciously as Anakin lifted the little girl in the air, making her clap her hands in pure delight. "Apparently she takes after her father."

Barriss' smile was almost sad. "That she does. She's strong in the Force, far stronger than I am. She would benefit from her father's guidance."

"He can't stay - but you know that, don't you."

Barriss inclined her head.

"Do you understand why?"

"He is a larger target than both of us combined." Barriss' smile disappeared to almost nothing. "And he's in love with you."

Padmé snorted softly despite the sudden leap of her heart. "He loves himself and his Force, Barriss. And his daughter now. There's not much room for anyone else."

"Anakin is different than most Jedi, Captain Naberrie. He knew his mother and was shown how to love. I thought once I could be the one to capture his heart. Perhaps I did for a time, but what he once felt for me pales in comparison with what I can feel in his attitude towards you."

"Mother!"

Padmé bit back her reply as Barriss' presence was suddenly discovered. She looked up, straight into the cerulean blue of Anakin's gaze as Karrin regarded her mother uncertainly. Padmé tore herself from the blue pools with more difficulty than before, and extended her hand to the child. "I think your mom and dad need to have a talk, sweetling. Why don't you and I go to the water's edge and I'll tell you about a lake so clear, you can see the bottom, even at the deepest point!"

Karrin latched onto Padmé's hand with enthusiasm and, without a look at either Barriss or Anakin, tugged the Smuggler Captain towards the riverside. Padmé didn't resist and Karrin started chatting about all the wonderful things her father had told her, not really seeming to care if Padmé was paying attention.

Padmé admitted she wasn't, despite the child's engaging nature, and was more focused on the hushed discussion she couldn't head behind her. The child's prattle drowned out whatever she might have been able to hear but she didn't have the heart to shush her. Not when being in the indirect sunshine and out of doors seemed to have cured her of the stoic behavior her mother insisted upon underground.

Padmé listened, automatically responding if Karrin asked her a question, her thoughts turned inward.

Had Barriss been right? Was Anakin really in love with her? Padmé didn't think so; she didn't believe him capable of love. Not in the sense that she had seen. She believed he might know unconditional love, how he could give himself over to something that was all-encompassing, but love for a woman? She doubted it; it wasn't exactly an encouraged part of the Jedi teaching.

"Captain?"

Karrin tugging on her arm jolted her from her thoughts. "Yes, sweetling?"

"Do you think my mom and dad will stay with me?"

Padmé's heart jerked painfully in her chest. How to tell this darling child that no matter how much she wanted it, her parents weren't likely to be together ever again? She glanced at where Barriss and Anakin were huddled in an intense discussion. Anakin's control had slipped and there were creases in his brow as he shook his head at something Barriss had said. Padmé turned her gaze back to Karrin. "Do they look like they'd be able to live together?"

Karrin frowned, turning her gaze on her parents. She watched silently, solemnly, as Barriss's head snapped up and her eyes blazed with hurt. Anakin placed a hand on hers, which she jerked out of his reached, her whole body posture easy to read, even for a child as young as Karrin. "They look like they'd as soon fight as talk."

"I don't think it'd be a good idea for your dad to stay, Karrin. He's a very powerful Jedi, one of the most powerful. If he does stay, he'd probably be putting you and your mom in more danger than you were before."

"Why?"

"Did your mom tell you why Anakin and I are here?"

Karrin shook her head.

"It's really easy. The Jedi have been turned into outlaws and they're going to need to find new ways of ensuring the survival of the Jedi order. I was asked to come and find your mom and bring her back with me to see the remaining of the Jedi Council."

Karrin's eyes widened. "But what about me?"

"I didn't know about you at the time, sweetling." Padmé gently grasped the girl's hand and tugged her down, diverting her attention from where her parents were still talking. "And if I had, I never would have agreed to come and look for your mom."

"How come?"

"You're safer here."

"Why?"

Padmé laughed softly. "Because your mom's a very difficult woman to track down. The only reason we knew to look here is because your father remembers her fondness for the Gwurran."

"Like Nixlew?"

"Like Nixlew." Padmé's confirmation was easy, though she had little idea of who or what a Nixlew was. "If you come out of hiding now, you'll both become hunted and one, maybe both of you, could die."

"Not if we were with father."

"Your chances would increase, but you'd still be hunted." Padmé didn't even try to shield her from the truth, but she wasn't about to go into details. "By staying here you have the chance of a stable home and a chance for a semi-normal childhood. Growing up on a ship, or being transplanted from place to place isn't any place for a child who should be running through grassy fields with the breeze in her hair."

"Like me?"

"Like you." Padmé squeezed the small hand she hadn't relinquished. "You're safer here with your mom, sweetling, much as I'd like to take both of you with us."

Karrin snorted. "But you don't like mother."

"Not very much, no."

"Then why would you want to take her with you?"

"Two reasons. My job and your father."

Karrin's expression was blank. "Huh?"

Padmé chuckled softly. "I was hired to bring your mother back to the council so I'm technically bound by that agreement, except for extenuating circumstances; you. Because your mother isn't free to come back without you, I have a decision to make. Or rather, she does. She can choose to stay here with you and continue to protect you or she can risk both your lives by coming with me."

"What's dad got to do with it?"

"If your father asked me to, I couldn't tell him no."

"Why?"

"He's a member of the Jedi council - and the one paying for the cost of this trip. It's his credits, so to speak."

"Can I come with you if mom wants to stay here?"

Padmé laughed softly. "Sweetling, you're safer with your mother, whom most people believe is dead, than out in the galaxy with your father. Trust me. Now that your father knows you exist, I'm sure he'll want to visit at least once."

"Will you come too?"

"Would you like me to?"

Karrin nodded, glancing back at where her parents were still talking. "I dunno if mom would want you to, but I would. You're neat to talk to."

Padmé reached out and rubbed the top of the girl's head. "Thanks kid. You're not half bad yourself."

There was little more to be said on the matter and they fell to other topics, impatiently waiting for Anakin and Barriss to come to some kind of understanding. They waited, finally running out of things to talk about and still Anakin and Barriss were locked in deep discussion.

Disgusted, Padmé finally stripped down to her underwear, encouraging Karrin to do the same, and jumped into the river. If Anakin and Barriss were going to waste the morning with prattle, she and Karrin would enjoy themselves. And Maybe, just maybe, she's be able to exhaust them both and get some much needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was almost midday before Anakin and Barriss moved from their intense discussion. Karrin had exhausted herself trying to tackle Padmé in the water and was now curled up beside the low burning fire as Padmé heated herself a mug of caf.

Barriss and Anakin joined her, Barriss sitting close to their sleeping daughter as Anakin, surprisingly, sat next to Padmé.

Padmé looked from one to the other. "Can I assume some kind of decision has been reached?"

"It's a safe bet," Barriss told her with a half-smile. The weight that had been holding the other woman down seemed to have vanished and Padmé was amazed at the friendly tone. "Anakin will continue with you back to the ship. Karrin and I will remain here."

"I thought that was decided days ago."

"Apparently we needed to clarify a few things." Anakin's reply was dry.

"A few?" Padmé looked pointedly at her chrono. "You were talking for over five hours."

"More than a few," Barriss conceded. "But I should get Karrin back to the caves and you should be on your way without delay. The longer you're on planet, the better the chance someone will be able to track you."

"I don't suppose you're hiding an extra Suubatar anywhere, are you?"

Barriss laughed softly. "Anakin's good with animals, Captain. You should have no trouble locating a wild one when you reach the prairies once more." She gently shook Karrin's shoulder. "Karrin, it's time to wake."

Karrin murmured in her sleep, rolling away from her mother's voice.

Anakin chuckled. "She sleeps like her mother too," his tease was light.

Barriss shot him an annoyed look and then her tone turned stern. "_Now_, young lady."

Karrin's eyes popped open almost instantly at the scolding. "But-" She stopped and blushed. "Do I have to?"

Barriss simply regarded her daughter who grumbled and set about getting to her feet. "Why do I have to get up?"

"We're going home, Karrin."

The little girl froze, her gaze darting to her mother and then her father. "Is dad coming with us?"

Anakin shook his head. "No Karrin. I'd only bring you trouble."

Karrin glanced at Padmé and Padmé knew the girl was thinking about their conversation earlier. The girl nodded slightly and turned back to Anakin. "Will you come visit?"

Anakin's expression softened and he opened his arms for a hug. Karrin flew into them, clutching him tightly. "When it's safe. I'll be leaving your mother an encoded frequency where you can reach me if there's an emergency. Short messages can be sent along it too, but not very often, alright?"

She tightened her grip and Padmé was forced to look away from the poignant scene. She abruptly got to her feet and walked away, unable to think about what she was seeing. The scene reminded her of her nieces, of the family she'd lost and of what Anakin was giving up - willingly - to keep his daughter safe.

She left them to it, already having said goodbye to the engaging little girl who was Anakin's daughter in her own way. She kept her back to the fire and the familial moment as she knelt by her pack to check her preparations. Finally, after several long minutes, she lifted it and settled it on her shoulders. "We should get going while it's still light out, Skywalker. I don't know about you, but stumbling around in the dark's not my thing."

"Do you have to go so soon?"

Padmé turned to meet Karrin's eyes and flashed her a smile. "Sorry kid, but if we stick around we might never leave. While that'd be good in some ways, it would tip whoever's hunting the Jedi to your presence here. It's better if we leave now. Your dad will be in touch."

"What about you?"

Padmé shrugged. "You know where to find me. So long." She turned away and began heading for the exit to their camp; the same entrance they'd used to get into their clearing. She heard Anakin's voice drop, could picture him hugging his daughter one last time and ruthlessly quashed the twinge of conscience. She continued to walk until she reached the rocks and finally turned to look back.

Karrin was standing in front of her mother, her little face solemn, one hand raised in farewell as Anakin was striding towards Padmé. Padmé smiled, waving once, almost jauntily to the child, before slipping beyond view. She waited there only until Anakin appeared and then began leading him away. Gwurran appeared in front of her, and she recognized the same guide who'd led her to their location by his clothing. He took over being their guide; a final farewell from Barriss.

----------

Anakin said nothing on those first hours, simply trudged along in her shadow and she was contented to let him stew. They made good time on their first day. As the sun began to dim and twilight settled over the planet on their second day, they were forced to stop on a rocky outcropping that was barely large enough for them and their gear. As it was, their packs were shoved against the stone wall and they were left with just enough room to sit side by side if they pressed close.

Padmé settled herself and pulled a ration packet from her pack. Anakin remained on his feet, looking around the area. They'd climbed some to get to the ledge and below them was the river, stretching out to curve along the rock bed, disappearing in places to go subterranean. They were above the mists, but with no place for a fire and slightly exposed to the elements.

Not that Padmé minded - their survival gear, including their blankets, could handle the winds which slid through the canyon frequently. While she was thinking about it, she pulled the first of the blankets from her back and spread it out on the ledge, ignoring the fact that it trailed over the edge by several centimeters. She tucked one end under their packs before pulling out a second blanket and tucking it about her shoulders like a cape before resuming her meal.

"Brooding about it isn't going to solve anything, Skywalker."

He slanted her a look she had difficulty reading. "Don't you think it would take even you more than a day or two to get used to the idea of having a child?"

Padmé smirked. "I would hope I had gotten used to the idea by then - they'd have been inside me for nine months."

He made a face. "I suppose."

"Sit down before you fall down, Skywalker. The fall would be longer than even you'd like."

He did as she said, settling himself next to her. Their legs stretched out, Anakin's heels hanging off the ledge, and were pressed tightly together from hip to ankle to ensure they could both sit in relative comfort.

Unfortunately, even with two layers of cloth between them, Padmé was reminded of the feel of his skin against hers - and the way her own seemed to tingle whenever she touched him. She frowned and then abruptly held out another ration bar. "Here. It's not much, but it'll keep you going until we're back in civilization."

"Thanks."

Anakin fell silent again as he ate, his gaze far away.

She let him brood for several minutes before nudging him with her elbow. "If you're going to be this distracted all the way back to the ship, you'll be useless to me."

She caught his attention and he turned his head to look at her in mild surprise. Darkness was falling rapidly and his features were starting to become shadowed. "Useless, Captain?"

"Useless." Her confirmation was derisive. "I guess a girl can't compete with the knowledge of a child left behind, huh?"

His answering smile was faint. "Only partially. I was mostly thinking about what you told me with regards to your past."

She blinked, caught off guard. "What about it?" She could have kicked herself. She should have told him to forget about it but a small part of her was very curious about his view on the matter.

"About why you don't trust."

"You mean anyone but Typho."

Anakin nodded. His gaze gleamed in the low light but she couldn't interpret the silent message. "Can you forgive me for being the reason you lost your best friend, Padmé?"

Padmé arched an eyebrow. Whatever she'd been expecting, that hadn't been it. "Forgive you? Typho died ensuring Senator Organa got away - not you. You didn't have anything to do with it."

"Bail would never have been in that situation if not for me. You know it as well as I do. I'm indirectly responsible for Typho's fate."

"So?"

"So... it makes me wonder if you'll ever like me because of that."

She sucked in a sharp breath as his finger tips touched the tip of her chin. She could see the concern in his posture, almost feel it in the way his fingers caressed but didn't push. "I never said I don't like you, Skywalker."

"Call me Anakin, Padmé."

She smiled faintly. "Sorry, Master Jedi, but until we're off this rock, you're damaged goods - just like me."

"Birds of a feather, Captain. Despite your past, despite your desire to keep me at arm's length the last week or so, I've not forgotten your boast, nor your promise."

"What promise?" She was fighting against a feeling of lethargy that was slowly permeating her limbs with the soft, seductive tone in his voice - and losing.

"You wanted me to come to you, Padmé." His finger tips traced the curve of her jaw. "I've conceded defeat."

Her breath caught. It was the second time he'd admitted it, only this time he knew her dark secrets. He knew about her death mark and the sins blackening her soul. He knew about her darkest fears. And it didn't matter; he still wanted her.

She shook her head fractionally, as if to deny it, but he caught her chin between one thumb and forefinger. "Don't shut me out, Padmé. You've shared a part of yourself that's been buried for a long time. I understand your misgivings, but aren't the rewards worth the risks?"

"Even if it could mean your death?"

"You forget you're not the only one with a death mark on this ledge, Captain. I'm not-"

"Just shut up, Skywalker." She reached up and grabbed his shirt by the collar. Her misgivings had piled up only to be dissolved by the knowledge that despite her past, he still wanted her. That, even if it wasn't permanent, was good enough for now.

His laughter was drowned out as he was pulled forcefully towards her and she ended their conversation with an open mouthed kiss.

Padmé lost her nerve moments later and pulled away in embarrassment. She didn't feel right doing this. Not anymore. Anakin had become more than a conquest, more than sport. She'd genuinely learned to care for him and taking advantage of his weakness wasn't fair. She would have to stall him. She managed to find a half-smile for him somewhere, though she was certain it came out shaky. "Much as I'd like to continue, Skywalker, we're not exactly in a comfortable situation."

His eyes bore down into hers. "Still taking control, Captain?"

She laughed huskily, uneasy with the accuracy of his perception even as she denied it. "Hardly. I'd just rather not topple off the ledge in the middle of something we've both been anticipating for so long. It'd be a real mood killer."

"Point." He exhaled slowly. "Then when?"

She smiled crookedly, brushing his bangs back from his forehead. "We'll reach the suubatar - if it's still there - tomorrow. We should be back onboard the _Blue Skies_ before the end of the week, even riding double."

He groaned. "I'm out of patience, woman. Too long."

She laughed. "Then we'll simply have to improvise, Master Jedi. I'm sure your familiar with the term."

"Captain, I never understood what it meant until I met you. Go to sleep; we've a long day ahead and we'll need our strength."

She did as instructed and he lay down beside her, sliding one hand around her waist as he tugged her backwards and into the curve of his body. Padmé chuckled, feeling the rigid length of him pressed against her back. "I'll sleep if you'll relax, Master Jedi. Once we're off this rock, we'll have that... _discussion_ we've both been anticipating."

His face buried itself in the fall of her hair at the nape of her neck and she swore she heard a sob of frustration. The guilt was easily pushed aside as she considered what she was doing and why.

Anakin would be better off without her; he just didn't know it yet.

----------

"Dammit, Skywalker, learn to duck!"

The smell of burning flesh and ozone permeated her senses as she rolled back behind the dubious cover of the boulder, blaster bolts sizzling against the surface. Anakin was crouched several yards to her left, one hand over his shoulder - the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the first blaster shots.

"Ducking would be no use, Captain. They know who we are."

"They're an ambush, Jedi," Padmé returned hotly. "I should hope they know who we are."

"Give yourself up, Master Skywalker," one of the clones made the demand evenly between blaster fire. "You and your companion will be given leniency and the promise of a swift death."

"How generous." Padmé replied dryly. "I think I'll pass."

The clones were forced to duck backwards as Padmé's blaster answered theirs, chewing up the rocky surfaces they hid behind. Anakin closed his eyes, lifting his wounded arm and squeezed his hand gently closed.

Padmé smiled grimly as the soldiers cried out for a half-second in surprise, the boulder at the front of their cover lifting into the air and then, with a shake, shattering into fragments to rain down on the troopers. Anakin was on his feet a moment later, grabbing Padmé's elbow and hauling her along. They darted between several boulders, and plunged into a nearby crevasse.

Padmé was hauled off her feet and into Anakin's arms in a smooth motion and, before she knew it, they were leaping high into the air towards an upper ledge.

He landed safely, going down on one knee to absorb the impact, but she wasn't given the chance to regain her feet. He leapt again, at an almost ninety degree angle from his first jump. He jumped twice more, the feeling of almost flight as exhilarating as real flight when Padmé had recovered sufficiently enough to enjoy it.

He landed the final time, stumbling into a roll which absorbed the impact. Padmé was released and she quickly righted herself as Anakin slid along the ledge, expending the energy from their landing and stopped by the wall. Padmé had her blaster out and sighted as she scanned the surrounding area.

Their packs had been left at the ambush site and they'd need to go back to collect them if they hoped to reach the _Blue Skies_ in one piece. Anakin's hand on her shoulder a moment later was all the warning she had as he stretched out next to her, shoulder-to-shoulder, and pointed towards the west. The sun was behind them, making it easy to see what he was pointing at.

There, in the cleft of the wall, was the ambush that had been set up for them. The troopers didn't yet realize their quarry had disappeared and were shouting orders for them to surrender from behind a slab of rock still connected to the mountain. They weren't about to fall for the same trick twice. Anakin caught her gaze and nodded o them, pointing to his chest. He then pointed to her, his eyes and his back, arching an eyebrow to see if she understood.

She did; he was going in and expected her to watch his back. She nodded, reaching into one of the pockets on her pants and pulling out a highly illegal looking compact scope. Anakin blinked in surprise and she simply smiled, waving him away smugly. She still had a trick or two up her sleeve.

He went, leaving her as she attached the sight on top of her blaster and sighted on the trooper nearest her - the look out. Anakin's shadow descended in that moment and the trooper whirled as the sound of the weaving lightsaber echoed among the rocks. Padmé fired, taking out the scout with a well-placed shot. She lifted her gaze, scanning for others as she ignored Anakin's lethal assault.

It was over in moments, a single trooper left, hanging suspended in mid-air by Anakin's telekinetic powers as the Jedi Master could visibly be seen to question him.

Then, from the side, Padmé caught a glimpse of movement. White armor moved in the rocks above Anakin, and the barrel of a blaster peaked through a hole. She cursed softly, going up on one knee for a better shot. She braced her blaster on her elbow, her left hand holding the opposite shoulder to give it the best brace possible, and only sighted for a second. Her blaster sang, letting out four shots in rapid succession.

She didn't wait to see if they hit. Adjusting her aim, and sliding a foot to the left, she did the same thing a second time, moved and then a third.

The blaster sighting on Anakin suddenly went slack, the barrel dropping and then sliding free of the cradle to clatter barely a yard behind Anakin. He spun with his lightsaber at the ready. She saw his eyes find the blaster and then lift slowly, shining with gratitude and admiration, to meet hers. He lifted his lightsaber slightly in salute, to which she lifted her blaster, and then turned back to his prisoner.

Padmé changed her location and continued to search for any further movement. She didn't find any, and the adrenaline of the battle started to fade. Her knees felt like jelly and she didn't fight the feeling as she collapsed back against the rock wall, tilting her head back as she closed her eyes. The sight of the clone trooper aiming at Anakin's back filled her mind and the cold feeling that she'd ignored at the time returned.

She identified it quickly. Fear. But not fear for herself - she hadn't felt real fear for her own safety in years. This was a gut twisting, heart wrenching, throat-closing fear for someone else. For a loved one. She curled her legs up, close to her chest, and dropped her forehead to rest on her knees. She'd fallen for him; in that single moment when she could have lost him, she'd realized it. Realized exactly what he'd come to mean to her and why.

_Damn him_, she thought savagely. _I was fine on my own, why now? Why him_? The answer was easy enough, though she didn't want to admit it. _Why him? Because he doesn't let you win. Because he challenges you to be better than you are. Because he understands what it is to give up everything you care about to chase a higher ideal_. She let out a shaky breath, opening her eyes. The fabric of her pants stared back at her. _You love him because he accepts you, flaws and all_.

There it was. The simple, unabridged truth; and he wouldn't care for it. Despite the Jedi's supposed mission to find mates for their men, she highly doubted any one of them was capable of loving a woman like a wife.

Force help her; that was what she yearned for.

"Are you injured, Captain?"

Her head snapped up, meeting Skywalker's concerned blue eyes and feeling it clear to the tips of her toes. She closed her eyes for the barest of moments, summoning the strength to face him without giving away her inner most desires. When she opened her eyes again, he was closer, his brows drawn together in a concerned expression she couldn't fully read for her own inner turmoil. "I'm fine, Skywalker. I thought you Jedi were supposed to have a danger sense or something."

He regarded her for a moment before his lips kicked into a sexy half-smile. "Thank you for watching my back, Padmé."

His sincerity disarmed her in a way nothing else could have and suddenly, humiliatingly, tears flooded her eyes. She hadn't cried in almost a decade and here she was, breaking down because of a simple thank you. But Anakin's gaze never left hers, nor did it condemn her for her weakness. Instead it accepted it, encouraged it, and his hand opened to her, palm outward. An offer of silent comfort if she so wished.

And wish it she did. Just this once. Her hand trembled as she reached for it, his image swimming before her gaze. His hand was firm and warm in hers, understanding in every inch of his touch. She was drawn forward without realizing it and then, just as suddenly, she was in his arms. They went around her, enfolding her in a feeling of all encompassing safety and security. A feeling so alien she almost pulled away.

But he wouldn't let her. Her face was gently cradled against his shoulder as hot tears tracked down her cheeks. She didn't sob, nor did she hiccup or sniffle, she simply lay there as rivers of moisture slid into the fabric of his shirt. His hand gently stroked her hair, the non-verbal comfort more telling than any words he could have said to her.

She felt cherished, desired and, above all, loved.

Her eyes closed against his shoulder and she wrapped her arms about him, beginning to believe for the first time that Barriss may have been right and her own perceptions totally wrong. Perhaps Anakin was as different as Barriss had claimed. Perhaps he could learn to love a woman as his wife, giving himself as fully to her as he had to his Jedi teachings. She pushed the thoughts, pleasant as they were, aside and simply focused on the feel and smell of him. The joy of having him in her arms after such a scare.

He let her cry, and Padmé let him hold her. She drew strength from him and from the release of her tears. Exhausted by them, she didn't protest when, for the second time that day, he scooped her into his arms and stood, leaping with the aid of the Force off the stone balcony and back into the ravines.

When they hit the ground, he silently released her, as if sensing his comfort was no longer necessary, and went to collect his pack. Padmé was grateful, for she'd rarely felt so vulnerable before, or since, the massacre of her family. She shrugged into her pack, adjusting the straps across her shoulders as she fought the ache in her chest.

Would Anakin leave when this mission was over? Was she simply opening herself up to more heartache by allowing him close? She steeled herself against the pain the questions caused, rubbing one hand over her face to wipe away the traces of her tears. She hoped not, but if she was, she'd survive.

Her earlier resolve to let him go dissolved and she vowed, silently, that if he still wanted her, she wanted him. Wanted to experience all the joys of having been with him, even if it was only until they reached the _Blue Skies_ and were informed of her next assignment. Even if it was only for a short time.

If she was bound to lose him, she was going to enjoy the time she had left without regret.


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** some people have noted that Anakin was rather er... young to have fathered Karrin. Karrin, in this story isn't 9 as she appears to be - in fact she's 6, just shy of 7 - but a very mature young girl because of her circumstance and background. Yes, that still makes Anakin young to have fathered her - however it was a deliberate choice when I wrote this fic to do so; one more reason why they wouldn't have told Anakin about Karrin to begin with. As Barriss is older than Anakin, it was her choice - and one you saw play out. Hopefully that answers the questions a lot of you have with regards to ages. Thanks for reading.

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Chapter 11

They reached the suubatar the following morning to find it contentedly sleeping inside the small cave where Padmé had left it. Somewhere in the last day, their Gwurran guide had disappeared. She couldn't recall seeing him since just before their fight with the clones but she wasn't really surprised. Gwurran were better at hiding than fighting and the battle had likely frightened him away.

Anakin had explained the necessity of leaving the single surviving clone trooper alive; he'd extracted the information that the clones had come with the instructions of eliminating he and his companions as they emerged from the canyons. There had been no mention of Barriss, simply that it was expected he would find, and retrieve other Jedi.

He hadn't liked being used as a lure, nor did either of them know how they'd been tracked yet, but Padmé suspected betrayal. Few people knew they were there and they'd made no transmissions to anyone to reveal their presence. The chances that the Clones had chosen Ansion at random and been successful were so slim, it was next to impossible. Even if they'd been guided by their new Dark Lord of the Sith.

Padmé was mentally ticking off the people who knew about their mission. The Jedi she felt she could safely discount. They were trying to save their order and if they'd been behind the attempted ambush, they would also have known about Barriss. The clone troopers hadn't.

Which meant someone on planet must have sent word or they'd been tracked. Or rather, their suubatar had been tracked. Otherwise the clones would have followed them into the canyons and been privy to the fact that two more Jedi hid beneath the surface of the windy planet.

Padmé entered the cave and carefully approached the sleeping suubatar, her eyes tracing the healthy coat. The creature's food supply had been augmented by someone - she suspected the Gwurran - and it didn't appear any worse for wear. She woke it with a soft sound, extending her hand under its nose to re-imprint her scent on it.

It calmed immediately, allowing her to replace the bridal and saddle which had been left to the side. The suubatar was docile, indicating nothing had spooked it recently, and acquiesced to her administrations without fuss. Finally, she led the beast from the cave where Skywalker was waiting for her.

His back was turned as he scanned the surrounding area for any sign of danger. His shoulders were tense and she knew he blamed himself for thinking they'd been safe the day before. If he'd been paying more attention to their surroundings, he would never have missed the Force-given warnings of danger. Instead, he'd been teasing her mercilessly.

Served him right. "I somehow doubt they've set an ambush up here, Skywalker."

"I doubted they'd be able to follow us here, Captain, and look what we walked into yesterday."

"How's the shoulder?"

He shrugged, finally turning to look at her. "I'll live."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Suddenly the stoic Jedi?"

His smile was pure malice. "I just remember your squeamishness with blood. Having you faint before a long journey wouldn't be practical."

Padmé dropped the suubatar's reigns and grabbed him by the shoulder. He winced, attempting to pull away, but she held him firm, using the angle to unbalance him and roll, hip tossing him to the ground. He went sprawling, his breath hissing out on a pain filled note as he hit the ground. Padmé didn't let up. She pinned him, straddling his hips and planting her palms straight on his biceps. Her eyes flashed as she watched him.

"Now's not the time to be macho, Master Jedi. If you're wounded, we need to ensure it won't affect our ability to survive once we leave the safety of these rocks."

"Safety? We were ambushed yesterday."

"And the rocks likely saved our lives." She retorted sharply. "If they'd been smart, they'd've caught us out on the plains with no cover and an exhausted mount. They weren't. Count your blessings, Skywalker, instead of kicking yourself. If we get out of these canyons without being shot at, we're in the clear until we hit the city and its surrounding areas. Unless, of course, you enjoy beating yourself to mental mush."

He stilled under her, his expression dark. "You're the expert, Captain, what do you think?"

"We came out of it alive, Skywalker. That counts for something." She eased back, settling onto his thighs as she released his arms. He pushed himself up on his elbows, as if loathe to lose their eye contact. "_I think_ you need to let me look at your shoulder and then _you_ need to regain your sunny disposition. Nobody's been permanently damaged; things could be a lot worse."

"How so?"

He shifted his legs in a silent indication that she was to change her position but she didn't move, simply settled back, pinning his legs to the ground. "A couple of certain individuals could have been with us making your little stunt not only inadvisable but reckless and dangerous." A roguish grin spread across her face. "All in all, I say we did alright, despite your injury."

"You've never been an optimist, Captain," he told her dryly. "And my legs are going numb. Would you mind-?"

"Leave when I have you where I want you?" Her eyes flashed with mischief as she sensed a shift in his attitude. "Why would I do a foolish thing like that?"

"Foolish? I would like to be able to walk tomorrow."

"Not if I have my way, you won't."

Something flickered to life in his eyes, a flame of desire that ignited so swiftly and suddenly, it stole her breath. He couldn't reach for her with his weight planted solidly on his elbows, but he shifted his legs again, cocking his head to the side. "I don't think I'm the one who won't be able to walk tomorrow, Captain, but I'm willing to make a wager on the fact if you are."

She leaned forward, stopping just shy of his lips as she planted her hands on either side of his chest. "I never could resist a good wager, Master Jedi; though I do believe gambling is against the rules of the Jedi Order."

He tilted his head, as if trying to kiss her, but she resisted, pulling away fractionally. He growled low in his throat. "Only the kind we can influence, Captain."

She leaned in close, amused when he was the one who pulled back this time, prolonging the inevitable, and bringing her chest flush with his as he did. "Name your terms."

"If I win, you help me track down and locate the rest of the Jedi."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do you fancy a long walk back to my ship?"

He stared at her, his expression serious.

She laughed softly, letting him off the hook. "And if I win?"

"You can do with me what you will, Captain."

"Oh, I plan too, Skywalker. I plan too."

Her lips descended on his in a ravenous, soul-stealing kiss that staked her claim as surely as if she'd branded him with a hot iron. The tip of her tongue snaked out almost immediately to trace the seam of his lips, giving him no choice but to respond.

And respond he did.

His lips opened to hers and her hands moved from the ground to his chest. The sound of tearing fabric was barely audible over the rush of blood that pounded in her ears and the sweeping fire of passion that sung through her veins. His response was ardent and uninhibited; a man pushed beyond his limits and who was suddenly drowning in the very thing he'd desired.

The world tilted and she closed her eyes, barely conscious of the fact Anakin had lay back again as her fingers encountered the flesh beneath his robes. His hands stilled hers, grasping her wrists and forcing them away before relinquishing their grasp to pull her shirt from her waist band in one movement.

She gasped against his lips as his hands touched her bare skin, arching into the feel of his calloused fingers sliding possessively along her backbone to dip into the back of her trousers.

Conscious thought ended as she let herself go to drown in the flood of sensations that seared through her body. She didn't fight it, didn't even try, simply focused on bringing him with her. It wasn't until she felt his hands trembling and could feel the erratic pounding of his heart against his that she let go the last vestiges of control.

Together they reached for the stars.

----------

Padmé lifted her head some time later, a satisfied smile curving her lips as she propped her head on one hand, watching him. Anakin's eyes were still closed, sweat having plastered his hair to his forehead, and she reached up to ruffle his bangs. There was a change in his breathing, a hitch, a moment before his eyes slowly opened.

Blue met brown and Padmé quirked an eyebrow at him. "Shall we call it a stalemate?"

He chuckled softly. "I don't know, Padmé; should we?"

"Could you walk right now, Master Jedi?"

"Could you?"

She sat up to stretch, completely unashamed in her nakedness, flashing a teeth barring grin. "I don't think I'd want to."

"Me either." His hands snaked out to grab her about the waist, dragging her back down and across his chest. He dropped a light kiss on the tip of her nose. "I don't suppose you'll call me Anakin now, will you?"

Her smile faded a little. "Is it that important to you?"

His lips twitched. "Would you like being called Naberrie all the time, Padmé?"

"By you?"

He nodded.

She crossed her arms over his bare chest, sitting almost nose to nose with him, her eyes serious. "I have a lovely first name and a title you seem to enjoy. Besides," her wicked smile returned. "I like bossing you around. Call me Captain, Skywalker; it's sexy when you say it."

He rolled suddenly, his hands flashing up to grab hers and pin them to the side as he pinned her to the ground, aligning them intimately once more. He leaned down. "Say my name, Padmé."

She arched an eyebrow at him, flexing her fingers to test his grip in case she felt the need to flee. "Why?"

He ducked his mouth to her chin so he could nibble along the delicately sloped bone towards her ear. "Because I want to hear you say it. I think after today, I'd like to hear you say it more often."

She tipped her head back, enjoying his ministrations. "And if I don't?"

His lips stopped beside her ear, his breath sending a fresh thrill of desire skittering down her spine as he spoke softly. "I promise I'll torture you until you do."

"This is hardly torture."

"Not yet."

Her eyes half closed as he gently bit into her earlobe, a soft sucking motion accompanying the act. "I... I don't think _now_ is the best time for this, Skywalker."

"Oh?"

She twisted her wrists, breaking his hold and then pushed. Anakin rocked back on his heels, mimicking her earlier position by sitting on her thighs. Padmé sat forward, going so far as to nip at the expanse of flesh barred before her, unable to resist the temptation. "We're in the middle of hostile territory," she ducked her head a little, drawing a line with her tongue. "And possibly headed into an ambush."

Anakin caught her by the shoulders, sitting her straight, his gaze searching hers. "And you refuse to say my name."

"A girl uses what defenses she has left, Skywalker. Up; we have to get moving." She pushed at his chest and then waggled a finger at him. "And I mean on our feet."

His grin was pure innocence. "Did I say anything?"

She smirked, her look knowing. "It's hard to hide behind that angelic facade when your body gives you away, Master Jedi."

He blushed, moving away to reach for his clothes as she did the same. They dressed in silence, Padmé taking the opportunity to simply watch as he covered inch after glorious inch, grudgingly acknowledging that her imagination hadn't done him justice. He was shrugging into his shirt when the angry red marks on his shoulder reminded her of how they'd ended up in that position in the first place.

"Hold up, Skywalker."

"We're pressed for time, or so you claimed, Captain." He continued, so she dropped her own shirt and stepped into him, pulling back the torn fabric on his shoulder to reveal the angry blaster wound that spread from beneath the small bacta patch.

"We're not so pressed for time we can't doctor your wounds."

"I distinctly remember you once telling me that you're not a doctor."

"Thank the Force for small favors." She waved him to sit, comfortable moving about in her pants and bra as she retrieved the larger med-kit from her pack. "If I was a doctor, I'd probably be telling you not to be traveling by suubatar, despite the circumstances, for a couple of days."

"Even if it means we might be killed by the delay?"

"By exertion maybe," her grin was wolfish. "I doubt the clones have enough troops to dedicate to tracking down a lone Jedi Master, no matter how powerful. They're going to have to pick a spot, the most likely spot, and try to surprise us. Now hold still as I wash this."

Wincing at her rough treatment, he obliged her. After several moments he had to admit that the burning sensation which had begun to build was now fading. "So you're suggesting we try a different path from these mountains, then."

"Something like that." She leaned close once the wound was clean and nodded with satisfaction. Her gaze went pointedly to the hand - his hand - that had found its way to her waist. "If it keeps moving in that direction, Skywalker, we won't be leaving this clearing any time soon."

He dropped it back to his side as she slapped the last of the larger bacta bandages over his wound and stepped away.

"That's a good look for you, Padmé."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "The bite mark on your neck really contrasts with your skin."

Her hand flew to her neck in dismay. "You marked me?"

A smug smile was her response as Anakin began closing the fasteners on his shirt. "A man does what he has too, Captain." Padmé opened her mouth to respond, but he continued. "You might want to dress if you were planning on leaving before midday. Much as I'm enjoying the view, I'd rather the clone troopers didn't see you in such a state of... dishabille."

"It's none of your business if I want them to see me in my skivvies. Did it ever occur to you that it might just be the distraction we need to get past them?"

"Or the one that will get us killed."

She pulled her shirt on with a vicious tug, fuming silently. She didn't care how good he was in the sack, or that a part of her was still humming from the experience, she was going to kill him herself when this adventure was finished. Of all the high-handed, chauvinistic, arrogant things to say!

"Padmé."

"What?"

He smiled at her snapped response. "A man does what he can to protect what's his."

She froze as he turned, going to ensure the suubatar was capable and equipped to carry them both. A reluctant smile tugged at her lips. Damn the man for keeping her off balance. Damn him for looking like one of the bronzed gods the Ethos believed in; and damn him for knowing just what to say to kill her anger in moments.

Yet, despite the cooling of her temper, a sense of unease was creeping in. She hadn't lied when she'd told him about her past. Or warned him to stay away. She hadn't been lying when she'd told him that everyone she cares about dies. Now, having wormed his way underneath her skin, a part of her was terrified and left to wonder if the next blaster bolt would find its mark and leave her once more alone.

----------

Padmé shifted herself into a more comfortable position in Anakin's lap with a self-depreciating smile. The suubatar's gait was such that you either let yourself flow with it for a smooth, easy ride, or you resisted and were jarred around like a sack of grain. When it was, sitting on the suubatar was easy. Sitting on the lap of the man she'd recently acknowledged -privately - that she loved while sitting on the suubatar was giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "self-torture".

"Problems, Padmé?"

And he kept calling her by her given name in that smoky, sexy voice which made her melt inside. She wished he go back to calling her Captain. "Just trying to get comfortable, Skywalker." She cast him a look over one shoulder. "Maybe you shoulder try and do the same so my seating's a little more comfortable."

His arms tightened around her. "If you'd relax and follow its gait, it wouldn't be a problem."

Problem? He wanted to talk about problems? She laughed, wincing at the brittle, harsh tone. "We have enough problems, Master Jedi. I don't need to be _creating_ anymore."

His grin was roguish in response, a twinkle coming to his eye. "Some things don't need creation; some things simply happen as a course of nature."

Her look turned scathing. "This is going to be a mighty long ride back if you can't control yourself."

"And here I thought your goal was to break my control." He sighed dramatically. "You really should make up your mind, Captain."

"Control has its uses. Like now, for instance, control on your part would make this ride far more enjoyable."

"For whom?" His words dripped with amusement. "You? For once on this quest it's nice to know you're the one ill at ease with the situation."

"I'm warning you Skywalker..."

"Warn me all you like, my hot headed beauty; it won't do you any good."

Her heart jumped into her mouth as the suubatar leapt from the lower level to a higher level of the rocky fissure, making its way back up to where it could exit the canyons. Anakin's hands tightened around her waist and she felt his lips brush the base of her neck before the animal righted itself and she resumed her prior pose.

"You're not helping."

"Was I supposed to be?"

Innocence fairly dripped from his words and the urge to turn and deck him was almost overpowering. "I thought so, but I guess you want to make this as difficult as possible. I don't suppose this is pay-back for not using your given name?"

"Jedi are above such petty actions."

She snorted. "And I'm the Queen of Theed!"

Anakin squeezed her waist and tugged as she was forced off balance, drawing her closer before she finally was off balance enough to be sent sprawling across his lap at the suubatar's next jump. His eyes were dancing when her gaze met his as if to claim innocence even as his hands were steady to keep her from falling. "Well, your majesty, would you like a riding lesson?"

One eyebrow arched almost as a reflex. "_Riding_ Master Jedi? Why, I don't believe you know a _thing_ about it."

He settled her comfortably in his lap, pulling her close so she had no choice but to curl comfortably against him. "I believe, Queenie, that I'm the one still in his saddle."

"I never said it involved a saddle."

He silenced her with a quick kiss. "Temptress."

"As if you'd want me any other way."

"Every and any," he returned easily. "But we're nearing the exit of these canyons and much as I'm enjoying the trade of double entendres with you, we should focus on the fact that we might be walking into an ambush."

She laughed softly, nuzzling his neck. "If you insist. But you _are_ the one who ensured we ended up in this position."

"I had help."

"Um hmmm..."

"Padmé!" He grabbed her hand as it started to slide down his chest. "This is hardly the time or place, _Captain_."

"On the contrary, Master Jedi. I'm always in the mood before a fight."

"And after," he squeezed her hand. "Focus, Padmé, _please_."

She tugged her hand away. "Fine, spoil my fun. When we're left dying in the grass don't tell me your one regret is failing to take your pleasures where you find them."

Anakin didn't reply as the suubatar took one last leap to the upper levels, thrusting her against his chest once more. Below them, spread out over a large vista were the plateaus, valleys and plains of the world, swaying gracefully in the constant winds. To the north of them, towards where they'd initially entered the canyons, they could see the sun glinting off white armor as clone troopers moved about preparing an ambush.

"I see they're more under strength than I initially thought," Padmé pulled her macro binoculars from one of the pockets in her jacket and focused on the clones. "Much more under strength. They must have impounded my ship and left a task force behind to guard it."

"Try thinking positive, Captain," Anakin returned dryly. "You'd be more pleasant company."

"I'm not being paid to be _pleasant_, Skywalker. I'm being paid to keep your hide intact. Planning for worst-case scenarios mean if they're better than we anticipate, we'll be more likely to make it through alive."

"And if they're worse?"

Her lips twitched. "They're never worse than worst-case. Besides, you don't want to know what I'm thinking is worst-case."

"Does it include leaving me behind?"

She chuckled softly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "Leave you behind, Master Jedi? When I've just discovered how _useful_ you can be? Why ever would I want to do that?" She turned her attention back to the troops. "I count four troop carriers, three dug in positions and several companies of clones."

"Changing our path appears to have paid off."

"Only if what's waiting for us back at the spaceport is packing less firepower." She tucked the macro binoculars back into their pocket. "We shouldn't dawdle or they'll pick us up on their sensors. The more distance we can put between this location and our campsite the better."

"I grew up in a desert, Captain; I'm well aware of the advantages of distance."

She was thrown back against him as the suubatar dropped down from ledge to ledge before landing on the grasses of the plateau. Padmé almost swallowed her tongue as the creature hit the ground and it's long, dexterous legs sent it speeding across the ground. The gait was jarring, making her teeth rattle in her head until Anakin securely wrapped her back against his chest.

It took several moments for the rhythm of the suubatar and her body to reacquaint themselves but finally she found she could see again without having everything jerk first in one direction and then another. The suubatar, which Anakin gave complete freedom for speed, had sprung forward at such a rate, the plateaus and crevices of the mountain range were swiftly disappearing behind them. Anakin had picked wisely, and the ridges between the awaiting troops and the suubatar masked their presence and would continue to do so until they were out of sensor range.

Confident that Anakin had everything under control for the moment, Padmé turned her thoughts to the spaceport and the kind of resistance they were going to face to get the _Blue Skies_ out of impound. For, if the Emperor knew they were here, he also knew - or suspected - what ship they'd arrived on. It meant the hardest part of their journey was about to commence.

They were two days out of the city, even on an overburdened suubatar, and their lives were going to be more than difficult once they arrived.

Padmé suppressed a smile. Nothing like a life-and-death situation to get one's mind off her hormones - or to get them pumping. For now she'd concentrate on getting them off planet. Once there, all bets were off.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Their travel days proved uneventful, where as their nights were passionate explorations.

Padmé was delighted to find Anakin an enthusiastic and adventurous lover, whose skill equaled his confidence. He drew responses from her she'd never imagined. To her surprise, their encounters did little beyond whet her appetite for him and that hunger grew instead of receding.

It was a refreshing change from the previous men in her life.

Anakin for his part, once released from her restrictions, was able to focus himself once more. Attentive and devoted during the night, his senses spread wide to look for Danger, he focused himself solely on business during the daylight hours.

Padmé surprised herself by following his lead, keeping her hands to herself even though she continued to bait him. He seemed to enjoy it as much as she did, throwing double entendre back and forth like a high velocity game of grav ball.

It passed the time, and, when there was little more to do than sit together on the back of the suubatar - they'd never bothered to waste the time to find and catch a second one - they simply enjoyed the silence of each other's company. A silence that was as charged as their conversations, so the silences rarely lasted longer than a few minutes.

On the second night they camped near the place of the shan's attack and Padmé knew Anakin was thinking about that night by the look he gave her. She deliberately taunted him once camp was set up, enjoying a good laugh at his expense before he finally drowned her little rebellion in kisses. They finished what they started by the light of the moons, ending up in the stream at the end to wash one another and begin the process all over again.

The shan were mercifully absent during the night and Padmé slept soundly in Anakin's arms. She wasn't aware of his hyper-charged reactions, nor of the way he left her sleeping several times through the darkest hours to check their camp and for pursuit.

She was well rested when she work the following morning and, upon finding him still sleeping, proceeded to wake him in her own unique way. He didn't protest, simply gave in to her ministrations and allowed her to take the lead. Which she did whole heartedly.

It wasn't until they had finished packing up camp and were back on the suubatar, only several hours from the city's perimeter, that Padmé broached the subject they'd mostly avoided in the interest of exploring one another.

"I don't suppose you have a backup plan in the event my ship's been impounded without cause, Master Jedi?"

"You're the tactician," was his easy response. "I decided to leave the planning up to you."

"An improviser, are you?"

The look he short her was heated. "You seem to have enjoyed it thus far."

"If you expect me to blush like a school girl, Skywalker, you're going to be sadly disappointed."

"Ah, but I _do_ know how to get you to blush, Padmé; and I now know you blush _all_ over."

She smirked. "Nice try, Jedi. Besides, I'm not the only one who blushes from ear tips to..." her eyes slid downward suggestively, "to toes. And you blush far more easily than I."

"Touché, Captain."

"Maybe later." She turned back to the matter fast approaching them. "For now we should concentrate on how we're going to get inside the walls and to the space port without being spotted, arrested or killed. Any tricks left in your bag, Skywalker?"

"A few. I was thinking a Force disguise."

"Force disguise?" Padmé couldn't keep the skeptical note from her voice. "You jest."

"It's relatively simple for one with my training. Only it's difficult to maintain when the person looking at you is possibly aware of the deception."

"Vetoed on that score. The last thing I need is someone I believe doesn't recognize me to grab me unawares." She shook her head. "Neat trick, but let's move on. Anything else?"

"I could use the trick from back in the canyon."

"When we're in closer, it might come in handy. Any ideas for getting us into the city?"

"You're the native, Padmé. Don't _you_ have any ideas?"

She smirked. "Admitting us Smugglers have our uses, Master Jedi?"

"I always knew you had your uses, Captain," he told her pointedly. "I just never expected them to be so diverse."

She snickered. "You never had me pegged, lover boy; admit it, I'm still a mystery to you."

"One I'm enjoying thoroughly."

She grinned at his veiled compliment. "Thank you. Likewise. Alright, I'll get us into the city; I've got contacts I've used for this sort of thing before that will come in handy."

"This sort of thing?" Anakin echoed her statement amused. "You've been chased by clones following the orders of a corrupt leader before, have you?"

"A similar situation with the native tribes. Just trust me."

"If I haven't proven I do by now, Padmé, nothing I do ever will."

---------

Anakin's words refused to leave her be as she planned their entrance into the city and tried to keep her mind focused.

But they echoed softly no matter what she was doing or who she spoke with. If she was looking through her macro binoculars, she saw his hurt expression. If she was listening for sounds of pursuit, she heard the pain in the words. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the words ricocheting through her system like a blaster bolt.

She'd hurt him with a casual phrase, one she used more than she cared to admit and mean it, and not done it deliberately.

"Anything yet?"

"Nothing." She settled back against the rise of the hill behind which they'd hidden, throwing her macro binoculars towards him in disgust.

"You seem distracted."

She slanted him a sour look. "If I am, it's your fault."

"You picked a lousy time to become riveted on me, Captain," he teased. "Three weeks ago would have saved us all this trouble."

"And become fairly awkward once you learned about Karrin." She tilted her head back to look at the sky, letting the perpetual breeze tease the blush of warmth from her cheeks. "It's what you said, Skywalker."

"Which part?"

"About trusting me and needing to prove it." She didn't look at him, but she could feel the intensity of his gaze like a physical thing. "You don't have to, you know. I know you trust me."

"Do you now?"

She cracked one eye. "I trust you just like you trust me - as far as I can throw you."

He smirked. "That's pretty far with the Force as my ally."

"Exactly." She finally turned her head to face him once more and met his gaze head on. "Back in the canyon I let you toss me about like the feed bag for the suubatar and didn't object for a moment."

"I was saving our lives; I didn't think you'd mind."

"I didn't and I don't. That's the point."

"That you like being man handled," he grinned smugly. "In more ways than one?"

"That I didn't complain." Her look was pointedly serious. "I'm attempting to have a serious discussion with you, Master Jedi."

"Novelty number one today." He schooled his expression into what she called his 'Jedi' mask and gave her his full attention. "My apologies, Padmé."

She searched his features for a long minute before deciding he was serious. "You don't find it just a little odd that this backwater Smuggler who trusts no one because of her history doesn't have a problem trusting her life to a Jedi?"

"Not really. We're very trustworthy."

"Most Jedi are." She poked him in the chest with a half-smile. "You're not one of them. Karrin proved that; and despite the revelation I find myself willing to trust you anyway. How strange is that?"

"Not strange. Maybe you've just realized how much you want to keep me in your life."

"Or maybe I just don't want to hurt you." She looked back towards the suubatar before looking into the sky to judge the time. "Look, Skywalker, I'm just trying to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you by my off comment. If I did, it was nothing personal, alright?"

"Just keeping your guard up, Captain?"

She shrugged, pulling a datapad and uplink connector from her pocket, but didn't answer. She didn't have any guards left when it came to him. He just didn't know it yet.

---------

Their entry into the city was as unsanitary as Padmé had warned him it would be.

Neck deep in waste, they'd waded through the underground treatment lines and into the plant, the outside grate having been lifted by someone she knew on the inside.

Anakin had watched her make remote deposits to her contacts for several hours after silently accepting her apology. He hadn't asked questions, though his nose had wrinkled with distaste when she described where they'd have to enter the city.

The sewage routes, primitive but effective, leading to the main treatment plant outside the city would provide them with both cover and safe passage. No Evil Emperor who'd been a Jedi would believe a Jedi Master, especially one as fastidious as Master Skywalker, would even consider using the sewage routes. Not even as a last resort.

But Padmé wasn't betting on it. She kept her blaster clear of the muck, knowing from experience that if she dunked it, the smell would linger for weeks. Anakin followed her lead, keeping his lightsaber just out of it, and they made good time.

Their suubatar and remaining supplies had been sheltered in a valley near the city where Padmé would have Hulgar - if he was still alive - retrieve the animal to sell for his own profits. Despite its double load, it had made better time back to the city than expected and Padmé was hoping it meant things would go in their favor.

Thus far, as they slid deeper into the sludge and rounded one of the bends against the flow. A ledge, shadowed in the nearly non-existent light, appeared around one corner and Padmé nodded towards it. Anakin veered off, making the ledge first and looking about cautiously. Then, with barely a whisper and a soft sucking sound, he pulled himself from the stream of waste. Padmé followed, accepting one of his hands and linking hers around his wrist before hauling herself free. She flashed him a smile of thanks before crouching next to the wall.

She peered cautiously around the corner and waved the barrel of her blaster once she was sure the way was clear. Anakin moved forward silently, not even the soles of his boots making the soft squishing sounds that usually accompanied a dive into the sewage tanks. She felt her lips kick into an admiring grin. The man had skills.

She waited until Anakin was in place next to the grate that led from this level into the next, and then darted down to join him. She slid to her knees beside him, leaving trails of brown and black goo where her legs touched the ground, and peered up into the darkness. She nodded after a minute, satisfied and then moved back against the wall.

She leaned in close, keeping an eye out for dangers, almost putting her lips right against his ear to avoid having the noise travel. "This is one of the vents for drain water - no sewage. If we're lucky, we'll get a shower before we reach street level."

His grin when she pulled away was all the appreciate she needed for her thought out plan. She'd initially intended to bribe her way deeper into the facility, but the exits were few and far between - and the last time she'd had no choice. A Jedi with a lightsaber - especially a Jedi Master - increased ones choices exponentially. She motioned for him to ignite it, making a slashing motion at the grate.

Anakin did so, cutting the pieces free at an angle so they could be replaced once they were through.

Padmé untied a synth rope from her belt, one of the only pieces of equipment she'd opted to keep, and tied it first around her own waist and then ducked in first. She clung to the inside of the grate with agility she could see surprised him. She grinned, motioning him to come through.

He did, replacing the grate before looking up to see where they were.

Padmé didn't bother. She knew the lay out; they were three levels down from the surface in a series of twists and turns that'd have to navigate before making their way to freedom. Climbing the grate, she paused at the top and looked pointedly to him.

Anakin followed her lead and then, with an agility she hadn't thought possible, gracefully lifted his lightsaber into the air and nicked hand hold sized slots in the wall. He continued to do so until the lightsaber reached the first of the tunnels before deactivating it and calling it back to his hand. He hooked it back to his belt and then confidently began scaling the side.

Padmé was right behind him, wondering just how far the sound of a lightsaber would travel in the open tunnels.

She was pleasantly surprised to find no one waiting for them when they reached the first cross section, hauling themselves up onto a slightly sloped walkway. Anakin had to hunch to avoid hitting his head and she flashed him a smile before starting off, once again in the lead. She felt, more than heard, him follow as she planted her feet carefully on the slightly slick surface.

They made good time up the sloped waterway, Padmé feeling the hairs on the back of her neck beginning to stand on end as she moved. Not from the sensation of being watched, but the feeling that their time was running out. A dull roar was building ahead of them and she quickened her pace, keeping her eyes on the lip of the tunnel ahead and the grate that sprang upwards from it.

She was barely feet away when the torrent she'd been expecting and dreading crashed into her and sent her hurtling back into the tunnel.

Water was all around her, tossing her like a leaf in the wind as the torrential forces dragged her backwards and downwards. The sudden, sharp tug about her waist pushed what little air was left in her lungs from them and she inhaled water on reflex. Sputtering, gagging, blinded by the water threatening to tear her from her life line, she flailed for any kind of purchase. Something, anything that would give her a way out.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her by the back of the belt, hauling her from the downpour. She coughed, sputtering as she gagged and spat up water. A gentle hand on her back rubbed circles as her body heaved against the invasion and she gasped in gulps of air to burning lungs.

"I knew you wanted a shower, Padmé. I just hadn't expected you to go so far to get one."

She laughed weakly, coughing up more water. "There are worse things to take a swim in Skywalker. At least I'm clean."

"Inside and out. Feel better?"

She nodded, closing her eyes as she struggled to find strength. That had been close. If she hadn't been wearing the rope, she'd have been cast to the bottom and out of the city into the underground rivers. She shuddered; too close.

"Padmé?"

"I'm fine." She opened her eyes and forced herself to meet his gaze, going so far as to accept the hand he offered her to stand. "Just a little breathless."

"I have that effect."

He winked at her, but she could see the concern lurking in his blue eyes despite the dim light. "Where are we?"

Anakin nodded behind her and she turned, grinning when she saw the grate and the water now slowing to a trickle on the other side. "It's good to be a Jedi."

"Sometimes." He agreed. "I figure we've got enough time to make it to the next grate if we hurry - without repeating the last part where you go for a swim."

"I'm clean; I think one dousing is enough for one day."

He squeezed her shoulder before ducking back into the grate and sending his lightsaber upwards to begin cutting handholds for them.

Seeing him distracted, she leaned wearily against the grate, just out of his direct line of sight and exhaled a shaky breath. Too close; much too close. She slammed one fist backwards into the wall, silently cursing herself. She'd been showing off for him, trying to prove she could outdo him in certain areas and forgotten about the set times between water ejections. Some were worse than others, but unless you were holding onto a grate you could easily be swept into the depths.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

She pushed away from the wall, silently resolving to be more careful. Showing off to Anakin would produce few benefits if they were dead.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Their trek through the bowels of the city continued, Padmé trusting her memory to lead her in the right direction. Coupled with Anakin's Force enhanced instincts they made good time and avoided any further mishaps.

Padmé was still sopping wet when they finally felt a breeze beginning to penetrate the tunnels and she turned her face into it. "We're getting close, Skywalker. Now we'll find out if our information is worth the price I paid."

He leaned in close. Anakin had chosen to get drenched after she'd been inundated, and the smell that had been clinging to them from the raw sewage was almost gone. Which would now, hopefully work in their favor. "What's next, Captain?"

She glanced at him before looking back up, this time straight at a grate that was in the roof and pointed. "That's where the water comes from and we need to get in. If we time it just right we should avoid being dragged to our deaths."

"You're not asking much from a tired Jedi Master are you?"

She smirked. "Need a rest?"

"Only if you do."

One eyebrow arched. "Is some inconsiderate person keeping you up at nights, Master Jedi?"

His look turned positively molten and she was suddenly dragged against him, aligning hip to hip, her feet dangling off the ground. "On the contrary, Captain. A very considerate Lady of Fortune is teaching me all about the value of inconsideration."

She winked at him. "I bet they don't involve sweeping you off your feet."

"Figuratively speaking." His lips settled over hers.

She reluctantly pulled back after several sizzling moments of fire. "I hate to break it to you, Skywalker, but this is neither the time nor the place for antics. If we don't hurry, we're going to wash away when the next deluge happens."

His reluctance to release her was obvious in ever movement as she was slowly put back on her feet. His eyes shone with promise as he ducked to catch her lips in one last quick, hard kiss before turning to the task at hand. "Just stealing a little of that fire, Padmé, to see me through."

She swatted him, but he wasn't paying her any attention, the lightsaber already on its way up the shaft. She narrowed her gaze, looking from the hilt to Anakin's waist and back. The rope that had been tied around him was now tied to the lightsaber and climbing towards the grate at alarming speed.

Anakin's hand came up as it neared, slowing it quickly. Two motions later the lightsaber had sliced through, at an angle, a hatch in the grate. The lightsaber shut off, and Padmé lost it in the darkness. Anakin's face was strained, his hand moving in an intricate movement she didn't completely understand.

Several tense minutes later, the lightsaber came back to rest in his hand, missing the rope which was still hanging suspended in the darkness between them, the other end attached to Padmé still. Anakin wiped the sweat off his brow and, without a word, leapt upwards to disappear in the darkness. The rope jerked, dancing before her eyes, and Padmé finally understood.

He'd been tying the rope to the grate.

Show off.

She pulled her flight gloves from one jacket pocket and slipped them on before gripping the rope tightly. The tension increased as she dropped the slack to the ground and stood on it. The jerkiness of Anakin's actions smoothed out and she could feel his speed along the length increase. Mentally she ticked off the minutes before the next water release.

It was going to be close.

Anakin's weight suddenly disappeared from the rope and she tugged it once, ensuring it was secure - which was ridiculous since Anakin weighed more than she did and had scaled it without problem - before jumping upwards several feet and latching on. She inched upwards, careful to keep her movements fluidic for fear of sending herself swinging like a pendulum in the center of the shaft. She shook her head in frustration; blasted Jedi anyway - didn't he know that climbing with the help of a wall would have been easier?

Then, as if her thoughts had conjured him, the rope tugged taught on his end and she herself starting to rise at a faster pace. One careful tug later, she had the rope wrapped around her wrist for a better grip. The wind rushed past her as her speed increased again, climbing as she practically _flew_ up the shaft. A reluctant grin tugged at her lips. Jedi certainly had their uses, especially this one.

She shot through the hole cut in the grate and was pulled from the air directly into Anakin's grasp. The sound of the cut piece of grate sliding back into place was almost inaudible over the rest of the noise.. Noise! She darted a look up, seeing the valve beginning to open.

"Skywalker!"

Anakin followed her gaze. His lightsaber flared for a moment, cutting through the synth cord that held her tied to the grating and in a flash jumped straight upwards into the valve. They passed beyond the aperture mere seconds before water crashed into it, catching their feet as they shot into the clear. Anakin reached out with one hand to grab the ledge surrounding the flow and caught it with his finger tips as the water rushed past beneath them.

Padmé, still clutched in his other arm, stared at him with grudging respect. "You sure know how to make an entrance."

The grin she loved so much creased his lips. "Anything to impress the girl of my dreams. Where to from here?"

Her heart lurched at his words but she pushed it aside. They didn't have time for nonsense if they wanted to get off planet alive. "Up."

"Hold on; I'm going to try and pull us up."

Padmé slipped her arms around his neck, allowing him to free his other hand. He shifted, swinging slightly to bring his other hand up and grip the ledge. Then, to Padmé's complete surprise, he used nothing more than his fingers to haul them to safety.

"That's-"

"Impossible?" He winked at her. "Nothing's impossible with the Force. I thought you'd be used to that idea by now."

"How'd you do it?"

He shrugged, rolling his shoulders as if to stretch abused muscles. "The Force is my ally. It gives me the ability to enhance my muscles temporarily."

"Can any Jedi do that?"

"Those that are trained, yes."

"Oh." She didn't quite know how to take this particular detail; it opened many possibilities beyond the uses she'd just seen. She pushed to her feet, tucking the information away for a later date. "Come on; we're almost to the exit point."

"Are you sure this leads out by the space port?"

A crooked smile crossed her lips. "You said you trust me."

"To my detriment." He waved her to lead on. "You're going to kill me, you know that right?"

The look she slanted him was almost malicious. "I intend to, Master Jedi; but not until we're back on the _Blue Skies_ as I intend to see you die a happy man."

He caught her hand, dragging her to a halt and caught her off guard with a rough kiss. "If I die today, Padmé, I'll die happy. Just try to keep yourself out of trouble, alright?"

"Likewise, Skywalker." She tugged her hand away, pushing down the urge to tell him her feelings now, before the fight they were expecting. If she did, it'd be as good as saying she didn't expect to live and she was, if nothing else, a survivor. "Come on; let's get this over with."

He didn't argue, but he also didn't answer, simply fell into step with her once more as they headed for the exit.

----------

"Hulgar."

The Anosian jerked at the soft hiss, turning slightly to try and find the source.

Padmé suppressed a smile, extending one hand from the grating behind which she and Skywalker were crouched. She beckoned.

Hulgar looked left and right, checking to see if he was being followed, before backing up to lean against the wall next to the grate. He kept a careful eye out and Padmé nodded approvingly, though he couldn't see her. "I thought you were dead."

"The rumors are highly exaggerated." Padmé's dry response did little to put her friend at ease. "How's my ship?"

"About to be impounded." Hulgar's words were clipped and soft. "I've done all I can, Captain Naberrie, but bribes don't work on these troopers. They insist I get the ship ready for impounding."

"Then that's what you'll do." Padmé would have laughed at Hulgar's incredulous expression if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Just tell them you'll have to take it over yourself or the Captain will be far more unpleasant than the Emperor."

"I can't; if I don't do as they say, I'm dead."

"Hulgar."

"Master Skywalker?"

Anakin's grimace was barely visible to Padmé as he spoke to her friend. "Cooperate with them. I'll handle the toppers outside, but you need to get Padmé on board. Can you do that?"

"I think so."

"Good. I didn't want to have to cut my way in and make her un-space worthy. Once Padmé's on board, let them take it to impound, understand?"

Hulgar nodded, though he didn't appear to understand at all. "What about you, Master Skywalker?"

Anakin's grin was lost on the Anosian, but his feral response was not. "I'm going to bust her out."

"Won't they expect that?"

"I'm counting on it. Where should Padmé meet you?"

"The collections department building." Hulgar was starting to look nervous. "Fifteen minutes."

"Done. Remember, reluctantly obey; we don't want you in danger."

"Yes sir. Good luck." Hulgar moved away from the grate, effectively ending their discussion.

Padmé turned to Anakin. "You realize it's going to be expensive to keep him quite?"

"Add it to Bail's tab; or mine. Whichever."

Her grin was wolfish. "If I took all my payments in the form I accept yours, my ship would never make it off the ground. Come on; we don't have much time."

They backed into the tunnels, Padmé glancing about to ensure they had the right bearings and then stepped out in the direction of the collections department.

---------

It took ten minutes to work their way around to the proper building, finally stopping directly below the staging area behind it. Padmé let Anakin work his magic, cutting through the roof on an angle so the plug would fit back nicely, and just shy of the surface so his lightsaber wouldn't be visible. He shut his weapon down once finished and brushed the dirt from his face.

"This is going to take careful timing." Padmé considered him. "Are you sure you'll be able to hear my signals?"

"Jedi hearing."

She rolled her eyes. "Twenty minutes from the time we hit the impound, I expect you to be latching yourself into the co-pilot's seat in one piece."

"You do your part, I'll handle mine. Be careful, Padmé. I wouldn't want to lose you at this point in our quest."

"Lose me, Master Jedi?" She cocked her head at him coyly. "I still have a debt to collect and a promise to keep. I wouldn't dream of it." She turned, taking a step towards the cut he'd made, but his hand on her arm held her back. "Was there something else?"

Anakin's expression was one of fierce, tender emotion. "Just one."

She arched an eyebrow in silent query.

"When this is all over with, Captain Naberrie, your last name is going to become Skywalker."

She blinked, caught completely by surprise for the second time in as many hours, and he didn't let her get her equilibrium back. He pulled her close, kissing her soundly before placing her back on her feet and disappearing back through the tunnels.

Padmé raised her hand to her tingling lips, staring after him in shock. He was crazy if he thought she would marry him just because he said so! And yet, despite the silent command in his words, her stomach still fluttered in a funny pattern at the thought. Skywalker's wife. The images the idea conjured were enough to make her heart race - and not with trepidation!

A sound from above brought her back to reality and she mentally shook herself, pushing the thought with some difficulty to the back of her mind to concentrate on the task at hand. She cocked her ear, listening, and then, bracing her back against the plug Anakin had cut, she heaved upwards.

There was a brief moment where the plug sat firm before the sound of something tearing above drifted down to her and the plug was pushed up and out of its hole. Padmé scrambled quickly through before replacing it with a quick shove. It slid back into place and, with a minor adjustment, sat seamlessly against the ground.

She looked around, tilting her head this way and that as she listened for signs that someone had heard her. Nothing. She darted across the ground and knelt next to one of the packing crates in the area.

Footsteps echoed softly as they approached the staging area, and her hand dropped to free her blaster from its holster. It slid almost thoughtlessly into her grip, coming up to the ready position as she peered around the crate. She relaxed almost immediately.

Hulgar. Right on time.

He was looking down at a datapad, appearing to study the contents, but she could see how his gaze flicked left and right, to see if he was being followed. She could also read the tense set of his shoulders and the way his nostrils twitched; he was nervous and trying to hide it.

She crept forward to another crate, checking behind him to see if he was being followed. Hulgar disappeared into the shack that qualified as the collection's office, and Padmé waited. She waited past their appointed meeting time, creeping forward and staying out of sight, until she was near the door, just around the corner. Hulgar, she could see, was pacing back and forth inside; waiting.

Twenty minutes had elapsed before he exited the shack and she made her move. Rising swiftly, she placed the blaster to the back of his head, caught him around the mouth, and dragged him with a sharp tug into the shadow. His muffled exclamation traveled no further than her ears as he hit the ground with a grunt. She moved around him, keeping her hand over his mouth, and then smiled when she saw relief take over his features. She released him, confident he'd keep quiet.

Hulgar let out a shaky breath. "I thought you were the clones."

"Not the last time I checked." She returned dryly. "What's the plan."

"I thought you had one."

She shrugged, holstering her blaster and crouching in front of him. "I like to talk right in the front door. Does that work for you?"

"You're the pilot taking her to the impound?"

Padmé grinned. "Do you still have those fake ID I gave you?"

"The one that says you're Nightwing Klatt? Yeah; somewhere. Why?"

"Nightwing is a pilot who can fly my ship. Get it; I'll meet you back here."

"What'll you be doing?"

Padmé smirked, tapping her forehead with one finger. "Becoming Nightwing. Be quick Hulgar, or they'll use someone else to pilot my ship."

He nodded, scrambling to his feet and was off like a shot.

Padmé checked to make sure she wasn't being watched and then ducked into the shack to look for what she was going to need.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Nightwing Klatt," Padmé presented her ID card to the trooper with a bored air, holding it in two fingers as if she couldn't care less if they believed her. "I was told you had a job for me?"

She'd changed her appearance some. The trail worn Padmé Naberrie had disappeared to be replaced with an exotic woman of similar height if nothing else. Her jacket, reversible for situations like this, was now a slightly silvery gray material that looked more expensive than it was. Her pants had been washed and sprayed with the lycra paint she'd found in the shack, giving them blue strips from knee to hip. She'd fastened her boots on under her pants before spraying, making them look like half-boots, and brushed the dust from their coating.

She looked polished and suave; a competent rogue.

In addition, she'd bleached her hair for as long as she was able before Hulgar's return, leaving her with a dark blonde appearance that bordered somewhere between blonde and brown. Excluding, of course, what were her trademark brown streaks that fell in front of her ears; the source of Nightwing's name.

The trooper scanned her ID card and then waved her through. "The Anosian says you're a decent pilot; we need you to move that freighter to the impound port. We'd do it, but the Anosian says he's personally responsible for the ship; you're our compromise."

"As long as I'm paid well, I don't care what you've got me flying, sugar." She winked at the guard before striding past him. Her legs stretched to their very limits to increase her pace and her walk, lending it an entirely different appearance and a swagger that was trademark to her alter ego. It was always the little things people picked up on.

She strode straight to Hulgar, unable to hide the twinkle in her eye at his still shocked appearance by her new look. She spoke normally, certain they were being watched. "The troopers say you're the one they hired me for. I take half payment now and half when I'm done or no deal."

Hulgar nodded wordlessly, as if he didn't trust himself to speak, and handed her a datacard. She imprinted her thumb on the payment spot and then smiled pleasantly. "Where's this hunlk you want me to move?"

Hulgar waved weakly to the hanger door where she'd landed the _Blue Skies_ at the beginning of this disastrous adventure. She thanked him curtly before striding quickly towards the door.

She almost made it.

"You there!"

Padmé didn't pause until the sound came closer, keeping her eyes on the door, her identification card in hand.

"You! Woman, what are you doing here?"

Padmé looked up with a laconic smile on her face, feigning innocence. "Were you talking to me?"

The intelligence Officer that stood before her held his hand out. "Identification; this is a restricted area!"

"I'm the pilot that Anosian wanted to move this ship. Is there a problem?"

"This area's restricted; Identification." The order was practically snapped.

Padmé felt the first stirrings of apprehension as she handed over the identification card. "If this is how you treat all the hired help, I can understand why we're so pricey!"

The Intelligence Officer wasn't impressed by her wit and carefully examined the credentials. He perused them thoroughly, reading, not just skimming, as the guard at the door had. She wasn't nervous; Nightwing's back history had been well fleshed out and there were certain instances where she had used the alias in other runs so she could answer about the history readily.

But that wasn't the point. The Officer was taking so long that Padmé cocked one hip and put on her annoyed face. "Do you mind? I'd like to get paid today."

"I have a warrant for outstanding tickets in this system, Ms. Klatt." The Officer's smile was almost malicious. "I'm afraid whatever you're making on this job is going to have to be routed back to our coffers."

"What!?" Padmé exploded in typical Nightwing fashion; not something she'd have done as herself. She glared at the Officer. "I demand to see those tickets right now; I paid off the last of them when I was last here."

"And when was that, exactly?"

She tapped the pad he held. "Almost two years ago. Until that backstabbing traitor of an Alwari ruined my last run! That slimy, no good thief caused me a lot of grief with some long time customers!"

The Officer glanced down at the pad, confirming the information and then handed her back the identicard. "Ms. Klatt, I'm going to have to ask that you see me immediately after you move that vessel. There's been some other strangeness since your last appearance that certain shop owners would like cleared up."

Padmé pocketed the ID. "Fine. Whatever. Just don't think you're going to be taking my payment without a fight."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

The Officer nodded once and then turned away, continuing on his way. Padmé frowned at his back, slipping the ID card back into its place. Nightwing was supposed to be a clear ID. From the sound of it, she'd made a mistake, a big mistake, the last time she was here. One that was going to cause Nightwing's retirement - or disappearance. She turned back to the door and palmed it open, stepping into the same dock where she'd parked her beloved _Blue Skies_ and looked at it critically.

No damage from the outside was visible, and no strange lumps on the hull. Using the codes she knew by heart, she keyed open the hatch and stepped inside.

Phase one complete. Now Skywalker just had to come through or this would all be for naught.

---------

Padmé landed the _Blue Skies_ in the impound lot with barely a whisper. "Control, this is _Blue Skies_. Transfer to impound completed."

"_Blue Skies_, this is control. Power down and prepare for inspection."

"Roger." Padmé spun the engines down to low, but didn't turn them off completely as she went through the post flight check, deliberately taking her time.

Five minutes passed, then six before the control tower broke in over the line. "_Blue Skies_, this is control. What's taking so long?"

"I was told this was a delicate job; the post flight op is a little trickier than I'm used to. Just give me a couple of minutes and I should be done."

"Do you require assistance?"

"Negative. The ship just has more spin down cycles than a cyclone on a lake."

"Interesting; you've seen one have you?"

Padmé chuckled. "I've seen lots of things, sweetie. Cyclones are just half the fun. I'll report in when I'm finished. _Blue Skies_ out."

She switched the comm off, sitting back in her chair as she placed her booted feet on her control panel. She mentally counted off the minutes. Eight minutes. Nine Minutes. Ten minutes.

Show time.

She pushed out of her chair, heading back down towards the main hold and the exit into the landing bay. She paused, keying the door open to the sound of blaster fire and a humming lightsaber. She un-holstered her blaster and ducked down onto the ramp.

The security forces were crouched with their backs to her, covered from the front as they fired at something beyond her line of vision. She couldn't see him yet, but the sound of Anakin's lightsaber slashing through the air and redirecting their blaster bolts was enough for her to guess his location.

She sighted along her barrel and waited.

Anakin's lightsaber flashed into view, and several of the officers broke and ran. From her cover in the shadows, Padmé scrutinized each one. She carefully examined their faces, looking for anyone familiar. Finally, Anakin was deflecting several more bolts coming his way from beyond the doorway, forcing him back, when Padmé saw what she was looking for.

There, in the shadows of the bay towards the back, was a familiar face. One she'd cultivated carefully, treated like family, and here he was sighting at her down the barrel of a blaster. She shook her head, turning, and snapped off a round. "Give it up, Hulgar; I know you betrayed me for a price."

The Anosian ducked behind cover, the bolt coming perilously close to his face. "I'm watching your back, Captain Naberrie; I'd never betray you."

Her lips thinned in a tight line. That settled it. If he had been watching her back, he'd have never blown her cover. "Skywalker!"

"A little busy, Captain."

"Well get unbusy - fast!"

Anakin swung his blade in a circle, deflecting bolts back towards the door. "Easy for you to say; you're not the one holding off half the garrison by yourself."

Padmé kept her gaze on Hulgar's hiding place before splitting her attention for a moment and snapping off a round towards the door. Her aim was true and the bolt struck the door controls, blasting into it in a shower of sparks. The door closed with a snap, leaving just those security personnel in the bay and Hulgar.

Padmé turned, but not quickly enough, as a blaster bolt tore through her shoulder. She gasped as fire raced through it, numbing her fingers and causing her to drop her blaster even as the impact spun her around and sent her to the ground.

"Padmé!"

"Anakin; look out!"

Anakin's lightsaber snapped up in time to deflect a hail of bolts from Hulgar and the security team who had joined him. He advanced slowly, foot by foot, making his way to where Padmé remained prone on the ground. "Hulgar, don't do this. You're choosing a side that can't win."

Hulgar's snort was audible over the din. "I've already chosen the winning side in the end; and they're richer than Captain Naberrie ever will be!"

Shifting her weight, she pushed herself upwards, back into her ship. The burning sensation coalesced in her chest, spreading with every breath as she groped for her blaster with her left hand. She sucked in a sharp breath, gritting her teeth as she fought against the darkness that was threatening to block her vision and send her into oblivion.

She wasn't going to die here. Not now; not at the end of another betrayal.

Her fingers encountered the smooth, cool metal of her blaster's barrel and she gripped it tightly, drawing it towards her with her finger tips. Her efforts were concealed under the constant shower of blaster fire; a shower Anakin did little to stop beyond deflecting, his every step a battle to get to her. She slid her fingers around the stock and rolled, hissing as her shoulder encountered the deck. Tears sprang to her eyes as she fought through the pain, drawing on it for strength.

_Pain means life_

Repeating the mantra softly, she inched back down to the very corner of the ramp where her blaster's muzzle could be snuck in. She aimed carefully, blinking back tears of agony as her shoulder injury threatened to take her with it to oblivion.

_Pain means life_

She reached down into her jacket pocket and pulled the highly illegal scope forth once more, moaning softly as the movement forced her to place her weight on her shoulder for a brief moment. She paused, breathing heavily as she struggled to move past it.

_Pain means life_

The scope slid on with a snap and she stretched out completely on the deck, sighting down the barrel. Hulgar's twisted, smiling face appeared in her sights as he peaked out of cover to fire off another shot at Anakin. Padmé waited, tasting blood as she bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to stay conscious.

_Pain means life_

Her finger twitched on the trigger, pulling it back slowly until it was half depressed. Hulgar ducked back behind cover and she could see his arms moving in and out of her line of sight. Then, suddenly, he was back out, his lips moving as he said something to Anakin. Something she thought was a threat. Her finger pulled back solidly and the bolt flashed from the muzzle of her blaster.

The blaster listed in her grasp and she never saw it hit the target. She was dimly aware of a scream, of Anakin yelling her name, and then nothing as everything faded to a single sensation.

Burning.

Her body was on fire, immolating in the agony of her wound as the darkness encroached on her vision. She writhed, curling towards the injury in an effort to stave off the pain.

_Pain means life_

The mantra echoed in her head. She didn't feel the deck moving beneath her, nor Anakin's arms as they scooped her up to hold her tightly against his chest. She didn't feel anything except the slow, all consuming flame that was spreading through her body and threatening to send her spiraling into oblivion.

Anakin's voice penetrated the haze. "Stay with me, Padmé. Don't you dare die on me."

Die on him? She would have laughed if she hadn't hurt so much. She wouldn't dream of it; he had a promise to keep.


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

"How're you feeling?"

Padmé turned her head with a smile at the man standing in the doorway to her - to _their_ - quarters. "Better; thanks to you."

Anakin settled himself on the edge of the bunk, his hand sliding into hers and twining their fingers together. He didn't say anything as he simply looked at her. There was a wealth of information and affection in that look; a speaking look that meant they needed to talk.

Padmé shifted, using her uninjured arm to pushed herself into a sitting position. Anakin moved, as if to help, but she shot him a look that said he'd better not interfere. He settled back, waiting until she'd adjusted herself comfortably, her right arm draped in a sling across her chest. "Took you long enough to get back to me. I hope you're not abusing my ship."

He laughed softly. "No more than I do her captain."

"Then I'd better make a full recovery and soon, or she'll never fly again!"

He squeezed her fingers. "Now, now, Captain; is that a nice thing to say about the man who saved your life?"

"Nope." Her grin was positively unrepentant. "But I'll say it anyway. We make a good team, you know."

"I know." His thumb gently traced the backs of her fingers. "Padmé..."

She cocked her head at him. "Something you wanted to tell me, Skywalker?"

Something flickered in his eyes. "I take it you're not going to use my first name again anytime soon?"

"Again?"

He nodded. "You warned me about Hulgar's strike; he's dead by the way."

Padmé felt a slight twinge at the loss and pushed it away. Something told her Hulgar wouldn't be the last to turn their back on her. Not with the Empire's unlimited fund to back them. "Good; he was a traitor and got what he deserved." She shifted again, adjusting her arm in the sling. "And I used your name because it would get your attention; and it worked."

"Is that the only reason?"

She met his intense, quizzical gaze. "Isn't that enough?"

His lips twitched. "I was hoping for more, Padmé. I meant what I said; you're going to marry me."

"I don't take orders well, Skywalker."

"I've noticed." He shifted closer, lifting his free hand to brush her bangs back from her face. "I like the hair, by the way; it's an interesting disguise."

Her lips twitched. "Nightwing Klatt at your service, Master Jedi. Though, I think I have to retire her since Hulgar sold me out."

Calloused finger tips traced the curve of her cheek bone. "I wouldn't just yet. The space port authority and various transports suffered critical mishaps, including a complete erasure of their records just after we lifted off. Whatever information Hulgar gave them is going to be subject to human memory and error now. I think it's safe to say Nightwing's career is simply on hold temporarily."

"You bombed the place?" She arched en eyebrow. "Was that a very Jedi-like thing to do?"

"I set an ion bomb." His correction was smug. "Harmful to the immediate surroundings only and powerful enough to wipe any computer within range clean. Including datapads, rods and disks."

"Devious. I never knew you could be devious, Master Jedi."

"When I have to be. Which is why you're confined to quarters."

"What?!"

He stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. "You're confined to quarters, my love, until such a time as I can _convince_ you to marry me."

"Convince me."

He nodded, leaning forward to brush a gentle kiss across her cheek bone. "Whatever it takes and however long it takes."

"What about your mission?"

"The Jedi aren't going anywhere." He shifted closer, his lips trailing down to trace the line of her jaw and back up towards her ear. "And I think you owe me something after this trip."

"Getting you out in one piece isn't enough?"

"And saving your life isn't worth anything?"

She turned her head, giving him better access to the curve of her neck. "I concede; it's worth a lot."

"Good; because I'm claiming it as mine."

"Anakin..."

He pulled back, staring at her in surprise.

Her lips tilted. "I can't very well keep calling you Skywalker if it's going to be my last name too."

His smile was slow, spreading across his lips even as an answering flame of desire spread from the pit of her stomach. "No. I guess you can't."

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back towards her, grinning into the pools of iridescent fire and love that shone from his eyes. Their lips met, a silent proclamation of love and loyalty as he joined her on their bunk.

----------

It took Padmé several days to recover enough to walk, and by that time they were pulling up the ship Bail had sent coordinates for. She watched as Anakin's hands flew confidently over the _Blue Skies_ controls with a feeling of proprietary pride. He was good, both for her and for her ship.

"You know, if you treat all your women the way you treat us, it's no wonder Barriss didn't want to give you up."

Anakin's laughed echoed through the cabin. "Surely you're not still jealous?"

"I won," was her smug reply. "I have no reason to be jealous."

"So that was just an observation?"

Padmé nodded. "What are you going to tell the other Masters?"

"The truth."

"All of it?"

The look he slanted her was sly. "The truth they need to know. That Barriss has done her part for the next generation of Jedi and prefers to remain in isolation."

"Why, Master Jedi, your deviousness is showing again."

"I get it from my soon-to-be wife. She's a bad influence."

"You haven't _seen_ bad yet, Skywalker."

He chuckled. "Ah, ah, what are you going to do when you can't call me that anymore?"

"I'll think of something." She watched the ship as the _Blue Skies_ approached, Anakin sending her in like a gentle leaf falling from a tree. "You sure have a delicate touch with my baby."

"And with other parts."

"No argument here."

They fell silent as Padmé considered his profile for a long minute. "Anakin?"

"Hmm?"

"You know this isn't just some... casual fling for me, right?"

He froze for a fraction of a second, tension radiating across his shoulders before melting away. His blue irises were soft, almost glowing when they met hers. As if he _knew_ it was as close as she was going to come to putting a name on her feelings. "I know. It's why I couldn't stay on Ansion, no matter how much I wanted to. Karrin has her mother, you only have me. I wouldn't marry you if I didn't love you."

"Love..." Padmé looked away. "I'm not sure if I really know that that is anymore."

"You do." His response was easy and confident. "You might not know what to call it, but I know you love me; you don't have to say it."

"I..." Padmé hesitated for a moment. "You don't mind?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'd like for you to say the words, Padmé; but simply calling me Anakin is a good start."

Her lips twitched. "It will take some getting used to, but I'm game." She studied his features. "You're going to tell them about us, aren't you?"

"Strategic truth, my dear Captain. I will tell the other Masters what they need to know and while we search for the rest of the Jedi on your list, we can enjoy one another." His grin was mischievous. "If you've no objection, that is."

"No objection, Master Jedi. No objection at all."

_fin_

----------

**Author's Note** - Finished!! *does the happy dance* Yay! Hope ya'll enjoyed it! Big thank you to **leia naberrie** who put on the roulette over at the force boards which spawned this series and the ensuing chaos. I hope you all enjoyed the little trip into Smuggler!Padmé's life. Thanks for reading :)


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